Cells grow ‘new knees’

A path breaking procedure in which new cells grown from cartilage cells are used for reconstruction of joint defects is now available in Bombay. The autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) technique has been around since the 1990s, reveals The Times of India (TOI) of April 26, 2009, but the fourth generation version (Chondron) has been used for the first time in India by Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, consultant in arthroscopy and sports orthopedics at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Andheri.

Having completed his orthopedic training at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Bombay, Pardiwala has obtained his specialty fellowships in arthroscopy and sports orthopedics at the finest centers in the US and UK. He is one of the first Indians to be nominated to the executive committee of ISAKOS (International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine), and is also the first Indian to be selected on the editorial board of the prestigious international journal Arthroscopy. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious international and national academic awards including the ISAKOS John Joyce Award 2009 for outstanding contributions to arthroscopic surgery, as per his profile on the Internet.

He also is a keen athlete, with special interests in soccer, rugby, swimming, boxing, throwing sports, cricket, and racquet sports. He is extremely active in clinical work and is the official team physician for numerous national and international sports associations and has treated sportsmen ranging from Olympians to professional athletes to young budding stars. He is also actively involved in research and education in sports injuries and has numerous international publications and presentations to his credit.

Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala: outstanding in arthroscopy

Pardiwala performed a biopsy on Malad based electrician Mohammed Mustaq Sheikh’s knee last year and took a few cells from around the damaged cartilage. The man had been bedridden with painfully swollen knees. "The cells were multiplied hundred times over in a laboratory in South Korea over four weeks. The re-grown cells were then transplanted back on the injured part of his cartilage on December 30,” Pardiwala informed TOI. Sheikh has recently started walking on his own and says he hasn’t been "so happy” in a long time. He will soon be able to start working again, TOI reports.

Two other patients have also undergone ACI treatment and Pardiwala says "both (are) doing very well…we have identified several other patients who want to undergo this treatment.” The "cell growing” or regenerative technique was being used in clinics worldwide for 20 years. Pardiwala explains that this technique arrests the patient’s descent into permanent disability and obviates expensive replacement surgery. A Bombay based company called Regenerative Medical Services Private Limited (RMS) plans to inaugurate a special laboratory for cell regeneration in Lonavla in June this year. "Once our laboratory is operational, it will cost patients only Rs 1.5 lakh,” Satyen Sanghavi of RMS informed TOI. In the UK and USA, where the technique is frequently used, it costs Rs 15 lakh.

Doctors feel that as the technique improves, it will be possible to arrest the progress of painful conditions like arthritis. However, Dr A. Chandanwale, head of the orthopedic department of the J. J. Hospital in Byculla sounds a word of caution. He told TOI that ACI is still in the clinical trial stage and "we have to wait for the long-term outcome of these patients. It’s quite possible that they may still need replacement surgery at a later date.