Recently, I went on a visitation organised by Arthrex to see Dr Steens in Dortmund perform a single step cartilage regeneration technique in the hip called Autocart. I flew out with my colleague Simon Newman, another young adult hip specialist. Firstly, I want to say a big thank you to Dr Steens for such enthusiastic welcome to his operating room! We arrived around 9.30am and were told he had already completed a total hip AND knee replacement and the AutoCart patient is about be anaesthetised! German efficiency at its best.
AuotCart is a procedure done during a keyhole surgery of the hip (arthroscopy). This allows other hip problems to be addressed at the same time such as labral tears or hip impingement. Although I have performed AutoCart in the knee with some fantastic results, I learnt a tremendous amount watching Dr Steens perform this in two hip arthroscopies. I also learnt some excellent tips and tricks on addressing hip impingement. It was also very useful speaking to Simon Newman during the procedures and sharing ideas and discussing cases. I cannot wait for my next case and the potential use of AutoCart to help get my patients out of hip pain. Please contact my office if you think you might benefit from this procedure or hip arthroscopy. Look out for my blog on AutoCart in the hip.
