Speedy return to active lifestyle after cutting-edge MACI knee surgery

Like many college students, Rithik Rajasekar leads a very active life. In addition to his studies at the University of Pittsburgh, he enjoys weightlifting, playing tennis, and doing EMT work which involves a lot of heavy lifting, moving and being on your feet. So, Rithik was not happy two years ago when he started having knee pain and swelling that impacted his physical activities.

“I was used to working out at the gym six days a week, and mixed martial arts was a big part of my life for 11 years. I was finding it increasingly difficult to do any of my activities,” he explained. “The pain was intermittent but when I had it, I rated it 8 or 9 out of 10—really sharp, searing pain.”

Rithik and his dad traveled from their home in Princeton, NJ to see Dinesh Dhanaraj, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at St. Mary Medical Center. An MRI showed that Rithik had osteochondritis dissecans, a condition in which part of the bone and cartilage dies and becomes painful. After considering several options, Rithik and his parents decided on a cutting-edge treatment Dhanaraj recommended, called MACI (Matrix Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation).

“With this surgical procedure, we take cartilage from a part of the patient’s knee, regrow it and then, at a later date, place it on a film and implant it back into the area of cartilage damage where it is absorbed back into the patient’s own tissue,” Dhanaraj explained, noting that the procedure is done by very few orthopedic surgeons in this region.

“This kind of cartilage repair is the holy grail of joint preservation,” he continued. “When we regrow the patient’s own cartilage, we can turn back the clock on a knee in terms of any specific injuries. This procedure can prevent the need for knee replacement down the line, as well as preventing the chronic pain of arthritis. That’s why it is important to get on top of the problem at an early age, as we did with Rithik.”

Dhanaraj noted that long-term success of the MACI technique has been documented in clinical trials held in Scandinavia where it was developed. “European studies show good long-term outcomes even after 10 years,” he said.

Rithik’s surgery took place on July 25, 2022. After six weeks, he was cleared to start upper body workouts at the gym four or five days a week. At the three-month mark, he was back to normal activities except for those that involved jumping or running. “My activity level is getting close to 8 or 9 out of 10, which is where I was before my problems started,” he said.

“Dr. Dhanaraj is the best surgeon I could have hoped for,” Rithik emphasized. “When I came into his office in tremendous amounts of pain, he not only understood my problem from a medical perspective, he also knew what I was going through mentally and emotionally. When you’re a very active person, it’s tough to have a problem where all that is ripped away from you. If you’re not able to be active for awhile, you can get into a pretty down state of mind. That’s the most important thing Dr. Dhanaraj did for me—he understood how I felt and he gave me back the ability to be active and healthy. And it’s reassuring to know that my chances of needing a partial or full knee replacement in the future are greatly reduced because of the MACI procedure.”

“Dr. Dhanaraj definitely crystallized my own passion for pursuing a career in orthopedic surgery,” he added. “Having gone through this surgery, I can understand how the patient feels, and I want to be able to help people in similar situations, just as Dr. Dhanaraj helped me.”