Danny, a resident of one of the kibbutzim in the north, broke his leg in a car accident and the doctors had to remove a piece of his Tibia bone. He did not imagine that he would be the first in the world to undergo an innovative surgery, done for the first time in Israel. Complete itself.
In an analysis conducted Tuesday at the Emek Hospital in Afula, the doctors took fat tissue from the patient's body, raised it in the laboratory and injected the cells back into the body to complete the bones in the missing places. The new technology was developed a few years ago by BioGroup, which separates the cells from cells that can build tissues and blood vessels, grow them in BioRector, a special device that simulates the environment of the body and provides optimal conditions for bone growth.
After about two weeks, tissue is created that is ready for transplantation in the patient. The tissue is transferred from the Haifa laboratory to the hospital, the patient is injected with the live implant, and within a few months the bone grows in the missing place.
"We created thousands of small particles of bone, each alive, and that allows us to inject them into the missing area, where they connect to a living bone and function," explains Dr. Shai Mertzky, CEO of BioGroup Bonus and who developed the technology. "The patient was missing five centimeters of bone in the leg, and the doctor injected the thousands of particles that we had grown outside the body into the missing place, and within a few days the area begins to refill - and after about two months the patient can walk."
The person who performed the operation yesterday is Prof. Nimrod Rosen, director of orthopedics at Ha'emek Hospital. "Our patient came with a deficiency in the Tibia bone, which the body can not complete alone," explains Prof. Rosen.
"Yesterday I surgically implanted the cells we drew from two weeks ago, and within six weeks the bone will complete itself and the Tibia will return to being the same as before," he says.
The surgery is suitable for the elderly with osteoporosis and also for cancer patients undergoing bone marrow removal, and Prof. Rosen believes that in the future this operation will be possible even for short stature patients, to transplant their bones and raise them by tens of centimeters. "In every operation I can add 10 centimeters, Sometimes it can change the self-image of a lot of people. "
Danny was the first person in the world to undergo the innovative procedure. "Eight months ago I had a car accident and broke my leg," he says. "At one point they had to take out a piece of bone, and the body could not complete it myself, I trusted the doctors, and I am sure they did a good job and hope that I will be able to stand on my foot in a few weeks."