Genicular artery embolization (G.A.E.) is upcoming procedure based on hypothesis that inflammation leads to neovascularization. These abnormal vessel continuously stimulate sensory nerve which leads to pain in knee joint. Aim of patient selection for these procedure to find out suitable patient who gets maximum beneficial results. Few criteria are mentioned below
- Knee pain is at least 3 months old & not responding to other pharmacotherapy or physiotherapy treatment.
- Spontaneous pain,including nighttime pain and rest pain, strongly suggests the presence of an abnormal neovessel at the origin of pain.
- Local tenderness during physical examination at the synovium and periosteum around the medial/lateral condyle, the infrapatellar fat pad, the medial/lateral meniscus base, and the medial/lateral side of the joint capsule alsopoint to the presence of an abnormal neovessel, and thus,these patients are good candidates for G.A.E.
- Pain that occurs when climbing the stairs is a good indicator of the existence of abnormal neovessel.However, patients with pain while walking on flat ground should be carefully evaluated because the pain in this situation mainly comes from the overload on the weight-bearing joint or anatomic joint incongruence, not from an abnormal neovessel. These patients often have severe/end-stage degenerative changes and should be considered for knee joint surgery
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