Synthetic Materials Can Replace Cartilage in Your Aching Joints

Sep 16, 2018

Instead of surgically fusing bones or replacing joints, some doctors are opting to use the new cartilage substitutes.

Cartilage, a rubbery tissue that acts as a cushion between bones of joints, doesn’t come with a lifetime warranty.

When it wears down with age, or is damaged, the pain may be so severe that the patient ends up fully replacing a joint such as a knee. For the big toe, a common option is to surgically fuse bones together, reducing pain but leaving the patient with no motion in the joint.

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