SHANGHAI Changhang Hospital yesterday announced the success of adopting tissue engineering on an 80-year-old woman to develop cartilage cells taken from the patient herself outside the body and transplant back into the part with arthritis on the knee.

　　The woman had serious right knee pain due to arthritis and damages of cartilage. Unable to afford the high cost of artificial joint transplant and worrying about surgery risk, the patient went to Changhang, where doctors adopted the novel technology to ease her pain through cartilage regeneration.

　　Dr Liu Jie, Changhang’s orthopedics department said self cartilage transplant is a new method to treat arthritis and it is suitable for patient with regional cartilage damages.

　　Experts from Shanghai No.6 People’s Hospital, the nation’s leading hospital on orthopedics, said self cartilage transplant is a best repair for people with joint damages and aged between 40 and 45. Changhang’s introduction of the technology to elderly patients is a meaningful and effective trial.