Dr. Joshua John-Ram SchacterDr. Joshua Schacter, DO FAAOS, is America’s Holistic Orthopedic Surgeon, with nearly two decades of surgical expertise.

Transforming Health with Biologics Therapies

28 Oct 2023 · 1 min

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1:07

Dr. Joshua John‑Ram Schacter, speaking in a YouTube video about biologics therapies, describes using PRP and bone‑marrow–derived stem cells as adjuncts during surgeries (e.g., PRP with ACL reconstruction; bone marrow stem cells with rotator cuff repair) and explains his interest in applying these biologics without surgery to reduce downtime and potentially delay or avoid joint replacement. He notes limits — there are stages where biologics won’t suffice and surgery is necessary — and critiques patient expectations that surgery is a quick, complication‑free cure; he also states joint replacements can take two to five years to reach their best outcome.

Chapters

We don't just make stuff up. That's not the way to do this. We start to get interested in something like biologics therapies. I did it for years in surgery. We would add PRP when we do an ACL reconstruction because it's been shown to augment healing. Or we would add bone marrow asperger stem cells when we do a rotator cuff repair because it's been shown to augment rotator cuff healing. That naturally led to me being interested in doing it without the surgery part. Because wouldn't it be nice if we could save you from having to have all this downtime? A joint replacement? As you know, sometimes we have to do it right. Like there's some point at which PRP and stem cells not going to make a huge difference, but it can make a difference for a long time. And once you get to that point, then you know your joints healthier. When we do it right at the end of the day, sometimes we have to do a surgery, but it takes two to five years for a joint replacement to get as good as it's going to get. We have done such a good job of marketing in this country to our patients that they think that they're going to get like it's a silver bullet. You're going to come in and have a surgery. It'll be painless and recoveryless and without complication. But that's not always the case. Sometimes the best technical surgery doesn't end up the way we want it to.