Successful experience of transcatheter arterial embolization for gonarthrosis in patients with severe pain syndrome and ineffectiveness of conservative therapy

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is a common disease of the musculoskeletal system, the cause of pain, loss of joint function and, as a consequence, a factor in the disability of the population. The treatment strategy for patients with gonarthrosis is not fully defined, especially in patients with stage 1–2. One of the treatment options for such patients is transcatheter embolization of the hypervascular network of the popliteal arteries. The article presents a series of clinical cases of embolization of the popliteal artery branches. Retrograde percutaneous puncture and catheterization of the target femoral artery were performed under local anesthesia. Then, selective angiography of the popliteal artery was performed to identify the hypervascular vasculature of the knee joint. After revealing the target artery along the interventional guidewire, selective catheterization of the artery of the hypervascular vascular network was performed using a microcatheter. Transcatheter arterial embolization of the hypervascular vascular network in osteoarthritis of various origins and localization can be successfully applied as an alternative treatment if conservative therapy is ineffective and if there are contraindications to surgical treatment. It should be noted that further randomized multicenter studies and meta-analyzes are needed to introduce this treatment method into everyday clinical practice.