Amazing stem cell treatment saves Kent man's leg
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Watch YouTube video of
Andrew Kent's rescue. Footage taken by Langdale and Ambleside
Mountain Rescue
A Gillingham man who faced losing his leg in a climbing accident
saw it saved thanks to a revolutionary 'glue' made from stem
cells.
Andrew
Kent's right leg was broken in five places by a falling boulder
while he was climbing with his son in the Langdale Pikes in the
Lake District in April.
The 53-year-old was rushed to hospital in Carlisle, where
the broken bones were pinned back together in three operations.
But his leg was still in a bad condition and the wound became
seriously infected.
He was transferred to the Spire Alexandra Hospital in Chatham,
where Anan Shetty, orthopaedic surgeon, performed the stem cell
treatment: the first in Britain.
It involved removing stem cells from the bone marrow in Mr
Kent's hip. The cells were then mixed with a collagen gel known as
Cartfill.
This formed a paste that was smeared into the fractures. His leg
was then placed in a metal cage, gently squeezing the broken bones
back together.
Invented by orthopaedic surgeon Professor Seok Jung Kim from
South Korea, the Cartfill collagen gel costs only a few hundred
pounds for each use, much cheaper than other techniques.
Mr Shetty will continue the cartilage repair technique on 30
other patients before giving his results to the National Institute
for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). He hopes it will be used
in NHS hospitals.
Thursday, December 17 2009
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