A North Texas man is the first person in the state to undergo a groundbreaking procedure that could change sports medicine.
Jon Foerster, a Denton resident and 44-year-old father of two, became the first person in Texas to get a meniscus replacement to treat his persistent knee pain.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Joseph Berman performed the procedure, which is part of a Food and Drug Administration clinical trial.
The meniscus is a tissue pad between the thigh and shin bones which has a very limited ability to heal once damaged. More than one million partial meniscectomies to remove or repair a torn meniscus are performed in the U.S. every year.
Many people still suffer from persistent knee pain but like Foerster are too young for knee replacement.
The implant, called NUsurface, will get Foerster back to his normally activity and prevent arthritis or even a knee replacement later in life, according to Berman.
"We are excited about the prospects of this. So far, we've had wonderful success in the European and Israeli studies that we are hopeful and excited about what we will see and do here in the United States," Berman said.
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Foerster tore his meniscus and doctors were forced to remove it.
"I can run, but there's a price to pay and it's called pain," Foerster said.
After the surgery, Foerster's recovery should take eight weeks.
"I'm very optimistic that when I'm done recovering, I'm going to be running with my kids, coaching their teams, doing a lot of things," Foerster said.
The SUN study (Safety Using NUsurface®) will enroll approximately 120 patients as part of regulatory process to gain approval from FDA to sell the device in the U.S.
To be eligible for the study, participants must be between the ages of 30 and 75 and have pain after medial meniscus surgery that was performed at least six months ago.
To learn more about the SUN study, visit http://sun-trial.com.
