A knee replacement
is one option.
For knee osteoarthritis, meniscus degeneration, and cartilage loss, MSC therapy is a legitimate path to review before you book the operating room. The determining factor is what your imaging says, not what's convenient to recommend.
The knee is the joint we screen most. Typically early-to-moderate OA or a surgical recommendation in hand.
When most knee patients first notice meaningful change. Peak around 4–6 months.
All-in. Concierge transport, procedure, IV adjunct, follow-up. Published, not quoted.
You've been told
surgery is next.
Knee replacement is framed as inevitable once degeneration reaches a certain grade. Sometimes that's accurate. Often it isn't. The patients who do best with MSC therapy still have meaningful joint structure to work with.
Moderate osteoarthritis, meniscus degeneration, and early cartilage loss frequently respond to a precision-delivered MSC injection. Advanced bone-on-bone arthritis usually does not.
If your surgeon has recommended replacement but your most recent imaging isn't showing end-stage disease, the evaluation is a reasonable next step. We will read your MRI and tell you plainly.
Moderate degeneration, not yet bone-on-bone
Kellgren–Lawrence II or III with preserved joint space in at least one compartment. The best response profile.
Meniscus damage, chronic tendinopathy, post-injury drift
Where conservative care has plateaued and PRP or cortisone hasn't held.
End-stage bone loss, hardware-required pathology
Grade IV OA with subchondral bone loss, ligament instability requiring reconstruction, surgery is the right tool.
Knee conditions
we evaluate.
Every evaluation starts with a physician reading your imaging and history. Not every diagnosis qualifies. Candidacy is decided on severity, structure, and your specific case.
Knee OA (I–III)
The most common reason patients come to us. Early to moderate OA with cartilage wear but limited bone-on-bone contact.
- Medial or lateral compartment
- Grade II–III strongest
- Read against MRI & weight-bearing X-ray
Meniscus & cartilage
Degenerative meniscus tears, chondromalacia, and focal cartilage defects that haven't responded to conservative care.
- Degenerative tears
- Chondromalacia grade II–III
- Focal defects < 2 cm²
Post-injury & tendinopathy
Accelerated degeneration after a prior ACL, MCL, or meniscus event. Chronic patellar or quadriceps tendinopathy.
- Post-ACL osteoarthritis
- Patellar tendinopathy
- Refractory after PT / PRP
How a knee session
actually runs.
Cells are delivered directly into the joint space under image guidance. Paracrine signaling does the rest, modulating inflammation and supporting the joint's own repair machinery over weeks to months.
The cells come from screened umbilical-cord tissue donated after full-term healthy births, expanded in our ISO-7 cGMP laboratory to passage three. Allogeneic, so there's no harvest on your end.
The entire procedure is physician-supervised at Hospital Angeles, Tijuana. Concierge transport from San Diego in the morning, discharge the same afternoon. You walk out.
Imaging & candidacy
X-ray and MRI read by the attending. Degeneration grade, joint-space width, and structural integrity assessed. You'll hear either way.
Dose & route
Cell dose (25–50M per joint), delivery route, and whether a same-day systemic IV is indicated, all set against your imaging and goals.
Image-guided injection
Fluoroscopic or ultrasound guidance places cells in the target compartment. Needle position confirmed before release. Local anesthetic, no general.
Systemic IV
A second MSC dose IV in the infusion suite. Joint injection addresses the target; IV addresses systemic inflammation.
30 / 60 / 90 days check-ins
KOOS and VAS at each interval. Imaging re-read at six months. Structured, not reactive.
What to expect.
And what we won't promise.
No outcome guarantees. What you get is a thorough evaluation, a realistic conversation, and treatment delivered to pharmaceutical-grade standards. Here is what the registry generally shows for knee candidates.
Inflammation down, sleep better
Early reduction in NSAIDs for many patients. Pain on loading often unchanged.
Measurable functional gains
KOOS function scores improve for most qualifying candidates. Patients pick back up things they had stopped doing.
Peak window
Some patients report near-complete relief. Others see partial improvement. A subset benefit from a booster at this point.
Durability window
Many patients hold meaningful results for one to three years. Duration varies with severity and biology.
The absence of dramatic change at two to four weeks is normal and expected. MSCs work through a slow paracrine process, not a pharmacologic on/off switch.
We measure progress on standardized scales. KOOS for function, VAS for pain, at scheduled intervals. Not on vibes.
Bone-on-bone degeneration or advanced structural failure is generally not a strong MSC case. If your imaging reads that way, we'll tell you directly, and explain why surgery may genuinely be the right answer.
Knee-specific
questions.
Q.01 Can MSC therapy replace knee replacement surgery?
Q.02 How long before I notice improvement?
Q.03 Does advanced bone-on-bone degeneration qualify?
Q.04 Does the injection hurt?
Q.05 Can I pair the knee injection with IV therapy the same day?
Other joint regions
we treat.
Start with an
honest read.
A consult is a physician reviewing your imaging, history, and goals, then telling you plainly whether MSC therapy is a realistic option for your knee. If it isn't, we'll say so.