FAQ’s

Ortho biologics are natural, biology-based treatments derived from your own blood,
bone marrow, or adipose (fat) tissue.

They help:
1. Reduce pain and inflammation
2. Stimulate tissue repair
3. Slow progression of arthritis
4. Delay or avoid joint-replacement surgery

We offer PRP, PRS (platelet-rich stroma), micro fragmented fat, SVF-based treatments,
BMAC, and combined biologic protocols.

You are likely a good candidate if you have:

1. Early to moderate osteoarthritis (joint space preserved, cartilage remaining)
2. Focal cartilage defects
3. Meniscal or ligament injuries not requiring immediate surgical repair
4. Tendinitis or tendinopathy
5. Chronic joint pain that does not improve with physiotherapy or medication
6. Desire to delay knee, hip, or shoulder replacement
7. No major deformity (varus/valgus) or instability
8. Reasonable expectations based on your age, activity level, and stage of arthritis
9. Our website clearly states that biologics work best in the early stages, before
irreversible joint destruction.

You may not benefit from Ortho biologic therapy if you have:
1. End-stage arthritis (bone-on-bone, near total loss of cartilage)
2. Severe deformity of the joint (significant varus/valgus)
3. Significant instability requiring surgical reconstruction
4. Advanced rheumatoid or inflammatory arthritis
5. Active infection, fever, or open wounds
6. Uncontrolled diabetes or severe vascular disease
7. Expectation of complete cartilage restoration—biologics improve symptoms and
delay surgery but are not a cure

Our homepage stresses that biologics cannot reverse advanced joint destruction. In
such cases, patients are redirected toward corrective osteotomy or joint replacement.

Ortho biologic procedures are used for:

1. Knee – arthritis, cartilage loss, meniscus injuries
2. Hip – early osteoarthritis, AVN
3. Shoulder – rotator cuff tendinopathy, arthritis
4. Ankle – ligament injuries, arthritis
5. Elbow – tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow

Patients often improve when they have:
1. Mild to moderate osteoarthritis
2. AVN in early stages
3. Partial tendon tears
4. Persistent joint inflammation
5. Cartilage thinning but not complete loss
6. Pain during walking, stairs, squatting, or daily activities
7. PRS and fat-derived cells (micro fragmented fat/SVF) help where structural
support and cellular signaling are needed.

Most suitable patients experience:

1. Reduction in pain and stiffness
2. Improved walking, climbing, and activity tolerance
3. Slowing of arthritis progression
4. Delay of joint replacement by several years in many cases

However, results depend on:
Severity of arthritis & Alignment of the joint, Weight, activity level, age. Whether the
patient follows post-procedure rehabilitation

Our homepage emphasizes realistic expectations—results vary and biologics do not
rebuild a completely destroyed joint.

Duration varies with each biologic:

1. PRP: 6–12 months or longer in early disease
2. PRS / micro fragmented fat: typically, longer-lasting due to structural support and
stromal cells
3. BMAC: often beneficial when cartilage is thinning but not absent.

Repeat treatments may be needed depending on disease progression.

As they use your own cells or tissue, they are generally safe, with low risk of allergy
or rejection.

Minor effects may include:
1. Temporary soreness
2. Swelling
3. Bruising at injection or harvest site

Our homepage stresses strict sterile technique and ultrasound guidance for precision
and safety.

Surgery is recommended when:

1. The joint is severely worn (bone-on-bone)
2. There is major deformity not correctable by injection treatments
3. Ligament tears or meniscal root tears require structural reconstruction in early
cases.
4. Pain persists despite biologics and conservative treatments
5. A corrective osteotomy is needed for malalignment

In such cases biologics offer limited benefit, and our website clearly differentiates who
needs surgery instead.

Assessment includes:

1. Medical history and activity level
2. X-rays (weight-bearing)
3. Full length x rays of both lower limbs.
4. 3T MRI
5. Joint alignment evaluation
6. Previous treatments
7. Severity of cartilage loss on MRI
8. Blood tests

Based on these findings, I advise whether PRP, PRS, BMAC, fat-derived cells, or
surgery is more appropriate.

While each biologic differs, most involve:

1. Spinal or regional anesthesia
2. Harvesting (blood, bone marrow and fat
3. Processing the biologic using specialized equipment
4. Ultrasound-guided injection into the affected joint or tissue
5. Intraosseous subchondral injections.

Our site mentions that procedures are minimally invasive and typically day-care.

I emphasize the importance of:

1. Protected activity for a few days
2. Avoiding high-impact exercises initially
3. Physiotherapy to maintain joint mechanics
4. Weight management
5. Periodic review
6. Recovery is collaborative—patient behavior affects outcomes.

PRP: improvement often begins in 2–6 weeks.

PRS / fat-based biologics: improvements may start within 4–8 weeks, with continued
progress for several months.

BMAC: benefits typically appear gradually as tissue healing progresses

Yes—if you are in the early to moderate stage of arthritis.

Our homepage repeatedly emphasizes that many patients delay or avoid replacement
by treating arthritis before joint destruction becomes irreversible.

For advanced bone-on-bone disease, knee replacement remains the most effective
treatment.

No. Because Ortho biologics are cutting-edge therapies, they are not yet recognized
by standard insurance codes, which prioritize symptom management over regeneration.
However, we believe your health shouldn’t wait for insurance policies to catch up.
Investing in these treatments is a decision to prioritize joint preservation and an active
future over waiting for disability and eventual surgery. If you want this procedure, you
may settle the bill in full and seek reimbursement with your insurance provider.

Patients can schedule an appointment through:

The contact form on www.orthobiologicsurgeryindia.com

Contact Dr.A.K.Venkatachalam (https://orthobiologicsurgeryindia.com/contact-us/)

Direct phone call- 7824003400

Arattai - 7824003400

Visiting the Madras Rejuvenation Centre (Chennai)

A consultation ensures you receive a personalized treatment plan based on your joint condition.

Dr.A.K.Venkatachalam performs these procedures in Chennai only and nowhere else.

These are not the traditional methods in medicine as they don’t establish a proper
doctor-patient relationship. If you are keen to know about your eligibility, you have to fix
up an appointment with the doctor in Chennai. You can request an appointment via e
mail or phone.

Eligibility for these procedures is determined on an individual basis after clinical and
radiological evaluation.

They are safe as they utilize your own body’s cells and tissues.

No. Platelet rich plasma (PRP) procedure uses your peripheral blood drawn from a vein.
It concentrates platelets from peripheral blood. A stem cell procedure utilizes cells
drawn from bone marrow.

PRP procedure provides relief only in early OA as seen on MRI.

It is possible only in stages I & II. It can provide pain relief in stage III but is not
curative. You will need a hip replacement for advanced stages of AVN hip.

A. Citations for knee Osteo-arthritis & Cartilage repair
1. Intra-articular Injection of Allogenic Mesenchymal Stem Cells has a Protective Role for the Osteoarthritis
2. Mesenchymal stem cell therapy for knee osteoarthritis: 5 years follow-up of three patients.
3. Efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells injection for the management of knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
4. Inflammatory pathways in knee osteoarthritis: potential targets for treatment.
5. Therapeutic application of mesenchymal stem cells in osteoarthritis.
6. Application of biologics in the treatment of the rotator cuff, meniscus, cartilage, and osteoarthritis.
8. Treatment of knee osteo-arthritis with autologous mesenchymal cells: a pilot study
9. Current clinical evidence for the use of mesenchymal stem cells in articular cartilage repair.
10. Stem cell application for osteoarthritis in the knee joint- a mini review
11. Aging has negative effect on bone marrow stem cells.
12. Adipose tissue derived SVF stem cells treatment knee arthritis- second look arthroscopy

B. Citations for AVN Hip-
1. Cell therapy of hip osteonecrosis with autologous bone marrow grafting

C. Tendon and Ligament healing-
1. The role of Growth factors in tendon and ligament healing
2. Anterior cruciate ligament healing accelerated with growth factors

D. Shoulder-
1. Biological augmentation of rotator cuff repair with Mesenchymal stem cells improves healing.
2. Biological shoulder resurfacing- A novel approach– Venkatachalam A.K. & Anil Chander
There are no long-term data available for stem cells at the moment. There are a number of short-term studies which suggest pain relief.