An alternative to hip replacement surgery may be in sight. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers reveal how it may be possible to use a patient’s own stem cells to grow new cartilage in the shape of a hip joint.

Share on Pinterest Researchers describe how they could use a patient’s own stem cells to grow new cartilage that covers a 3-D scaffold molded to the shape of their hip joint.

Image credit: Guilak Laboratory



Furthermore, the team – including researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO – says it is possible to program the newly grown cartilage to release anti-inflammatory molecules, which could stave off the return of arthritis – the most common cause of hip pain.

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), osteoarthritis is the primary cause of hip joint damage that requires hip replacement surgery, causing severe pain and disability.

Hip replacement surgery, also known as arthroplasty, involves surgically removing the diseased part of the hip and replacing it with new, prosthetic parts. Each year in the United States, more than 332,000 hip replacement surgeries are performed.

While effective, study co-author Farshid Guilak, Ph.D., a professor of orthopedic surgery at Washington University, and colleagues note that doctors are wary about hip replacement surgery in patients under the age of 50.

They explain that hip prosthetics usually last less than 20 years, so it is likely that younger patients will one day require a second hip replacement. Replacing a worn prosthetic hip joint is complex, and it can increase patients’ risk of infection and cause damage to the surrounding bone.

As such, there is a need for an alternative to hip replacement surgery, and Guilak and colleagues believe they may have found one.