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Imaging techniques accurately diagnose cartilage defects
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CHICAGO — Use of several imaging techniques can help orthopedic surgeons accurately diagnose cartilage defects or injuries in patients, according to a presenter at the International Cartilage Repair Society Annual Meeting.
“By use of vast imaging techniques, cartilage defects or injuries can be precisely diagnosed,” Milena Pachowsky, of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany, said in her presentation. “… It helps the surgeon form decision making, it helps to find the appropriate therapy, it also helps to monitor the results of the surgery and early complications can be detected.”
Pachowsky gave the presentation for Goetz Welsch, MD, here.
She said cartilage repair uses a multimodal approach, with the use of imaging at the forefront to help assess the injury and necessary treatment.
“It is important that there is very good communication between the surgeon or clinician and radiologist to find the best [treatments] for each patient,” Pachowsky said.
By reviewing several imaging techniques, including MRI and biochemical techniques, she noted it is important for the surgeon to understand which imaging technique would show the best findings.
“For the MRI, it is important the surgeon sees what he wants to see, so he has to talk to the radiologist and find out what he really wants to know,” Pachowsky said. “It is not only important before the surgery, but also after for the repair tissue.”
Pachowsky added biomechanical imaging will help surgeons look at the structure of the cartilage, while MRI techniques can help find out if the cartilage is able to react to load and monitor the reaction of the cartilage.
“In the future, [we hope] to find out the perfect point of return to play in order to not damage the cartilage further and still have… an early return to play, but not too early,” Pachowsky said. – by Casey Tingle
Reference:
Welsch GH. Advances in imaging of cartilage and cartilage repair: The surgeon’s point of view. Presented at: International Cartilage Repair Society Annual Meeting. May 8-11, 2015; Chicago.
Disclosure: Pachowsky reports no relevant financial disclosures.