Stem Cell Therapy for Joints

In orthopaedics, stem cell therapy usually means taking bone marrow from your pelvis or fat from your abdomen, concentrating it in a centrifuge and injecting it into an arthritic knee, hip or shoulder, or around a damaged tendon. These products contain very few true stem cells; they are better described as cell concentrates.

Some patients report less pain for 6 to 12 months. There is no reliable evidence that these injections regrow cartilage, reverse arthritis or avoid joint replacement. Regulators and orthopaedic societies regard them as experimental, and good trials have found them no better than a steroid or even a saline injection in knee arthritis.

What Stem Cell Therapy for Joints involves

For bone marrow aspirate concentrate, you lie face down and the skin and bone surface over the back of the pelvis are numbed. A hollow needle is pushed through the outer bone and 60 to 120 ml of marrow is drawn into syringes, changing needle depth to improve yield; this part is uncomfortable. The sample is spun for 10 to 15 minutes to separate a few millilitres of concentrate. For fat derived products, a small liposuction of the abdomen under local anaesthetic yields fat that is washed and mechanically broken down. The concentrate is then injected into the joint or tendon under ultrasound or X-ray guidance, on the same day. Laboratory expanded (cultured) cells are a different, more regulated product and should only be given within approved programmes or clinical trials.

Who is a good candidate for Stem Cell Therapy for Joints?

If you choose it despite the uncertainty, the people most often treated have mild to moderate arthritis and have tried established care first.

• Mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis with preserved joint space
• People who understand that it is experimental and that benefit may be placebo level
• Those for whom joint replacement is not yet appropriate
• Participants in a registered clinical trial, which is the best setting

It is usually not the right choice if:

• Bone on bone arthritis, where no injection will restore the joint
• Active infection, cancer or blood disorders
• People taking anticoagulants that cannot be paused
• Anyone told it will cure arthritis, regrow cartilage or treat unrelated diseases
• Children

Technique options

• Bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC): Same day marrow harvest from the pelvis; the most common form.
• Adipose derived cell preparations: From a mini liposuction; rules on processing differ between countries.
• Cultured mesenchymal stromal cells: Grown in a licensed laboratory over weeks; only appropriate within authorised programmes or trials.
• Established alternatives: Exercise therapy, weight loss, steroid injection, osteotomy and joint replacement all have far stronger evidence.

What happens during your treatment

The whole visit takes 1.5 to 2.5 hours under local anaesthetic, sometimes with sedation. Marrow aspiration causes a deep dragging ache for seconds at a time. The joint injection itself feels like any other joint injection. You walk out afterwards.

Preparing for your trip

It is normally a single day procedure, with consultation and imaging the day before, so 3 to 5 days in Istanbul is enough. Some providers suggest repeat injections after 6 or 12 months; there is no good evidence that repeating helps. Ask for the exact product name, cell counts and the regulatory approval of the facility in writing.

• Tell the doctor about medication, allergies, pregnancy or breastfeeding, and any history of cold sores, keloid scars or autoimmune disease
• Avoid alcohol, aspirin and anti-inflammatory painkillers for a few days beforehand if your own doctor agrees, to reduce bruising
• Arrive without make-up on the treatment area and avoid sunbeds and strong sun for two weeks before

Recovery and results

Expect soreness at the harvest site for up to a week and a swollen, aching joint for several days. Avoid anti-inflammatory tablets for 1 to 2 weeks if advised, and impact exercise for 4 to 6 weeks. Any benefit is judged at 3 to 6 months. Continue your exercise programme, since that has proven value.

• Back to everyday activity: A few days; no impact sport for 4 to 6 weeks
• When results show: Judged at 3 to 6 months
• How long they last: Uncertain; often under a year

Safety, risks and revision policy

Same day procedures using your own cells have a reasonable short term safety record; the main risk is paying for something that does not work.

• No meaningful improvement
• Pain, bruising or haematoma at the marrow or fat harvest site
• Joint infection
• Post injection flare with swelling
• Serious harms, including infections and tumours, reported from unregulated clinics using cultured or donor cell products
• Delay of effective treatment

Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.

Cost of Stem Cell Therapy for Joints in Türkiye

Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for Stem Cell Therapy for Joints, because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:

• Source and processing method of the cells
• Single or multiple joints
• Imaging guidance and sedation
• Whether it is part of a trial, where treatment may be funded

Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.

Frequently Asked Questions