ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Some local scientists are coming up with new ways to address knee problems.
Doctors say a new procedure allows them to take patients' healthy knee cartilage and use it to grow new cartilage. It can then be used to repair the damaged cells.
Rochester Regional Health's Sports Medical team is the first in Upstate New York to use what's called the "MACI" (Macy) procedure.
"Cells come in a membrane that's already adhered to," said Dr. Christopher Brown, medical director. "We just cut out, like arts and crafts, cut out the defect size, put it in the defect and glue it on and within 24 hours, the cells actually start growing and moving into where that cartilage abnormality is."
Dani Tefft of Cooperstown is one of the first patients in the area to receive this procedure. Tefft says she's impressed with the results.
"It's definitely a lot like I feel really good about it and I'm just hoping to heal a little bit more and get that recovery time and rest it as long as I need to so I can get back to doing activities that I want to do," Tefft said.
Doctors say the cell production takes from 6 to 8 weeks. However, the recovery time is significantly shorter and less complicated than other procedures.