GENICULAR ARTERY EMBOLIZATION
What is genicular artery embolization
- It is a novel non-invasive treatment for knee joint osteoarthritis (common reason for joint pain). It involves blockage of blood vessel responsible for joint destruction and joint pain.
Why it is preferred:
- It prevents or in some patient it prolongs need for invasive knee replacement.
- It is very useful in those patients in whom surgery is not possible and in young patients.
How it performed:
- Whole procedure performed under local anaesthesia with small pinhole (less than 2 mm).
- After 6 hour of procedure, patient is able to walk and get discharged on same day.
How it worked:
- This procedure involves blockage of blood vessels responsible for knee joint destruction and joint pain.
- Localization of these vessels are done under angiography and super selectively blocked with embolizing material.
What are benefits:
- It reduces or eliminates pain. So it improves the quality of life of patient.
- It prevents further damage of knee joint and thus preserve natural knee joint.
What are risks:
- Very less, non-target blockage of vessel (<1 case in 1000).
