Dr. Andrews Using Stem Cells to Speed Recovery??

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by BigHairedAristocrat

I agree. I did not mean to start any sort of debate - i was really just trying to paint a clear picture of the "stem cell debate" to explain why there are legitimate ethical concerns to certain types of stem cell research.

Most of us are not doctors (but some of us like to pretend to be, especially as it relates to RGIIIs knee). Its important for people to understand the distinction. The article which prompted this thread went out of its to make the distinction clear.

As to speculation that RGIII had stem cells injected in his knee - i think its pretty cool. I wonder if they'd have done the same thing for both knees to speed up recovery.

I suppose it depends on how the stem cells help the knee heal. Are they helping the ligaments adhere to the bone with great strength in a quicker fashion? Seems that way, since the article states that they're injecting them into reconstructed joints to generate strength in the ligaments sooner. But what about grafted tendons? Will stem cells help the grafted tendon from his other knee heal stronger?

Suffice it to say that wherever Andrews thought it would aid the healing process, he is probably doing it. It's smart business and good medicine for him. Doing this enables him to heal patients faster and grow his cache as the miracle worker for sports medicine.