Artificial Cartilage Implants Offer Alternative Treatment For Osteoarthritis In Toes

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Wearing high heels can be stylish but also painful, because they can lead to osteoarthritis in a joint of the big toe.

Until recently, the only solution was surgery or avoiding heels altogether. But as CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez reports, there's now a new alternative.

The surgical solution involved fusing the joint, which meant losing flexibility in the big toe. Now instead, patients can have an artificial cartilage implant.

Kimberly Reitmajer stays active, but the pain from osteoarthritis in her big toe made things difficult at home and work.

"I would take off my shoes and just almost cry on my way to my car, because it hurt so bad," she said.

Until recently, her only option was surgery, which would have left her without motion in her toe and a long recovery. Then, her doctor told her about a new FDA-approved procedure using the Cartiva implant.

It's synthetic cartilage that's made of the same material as contact lenses and inserted into joints.

"It attracts water, so it has a slippery feel to it. So it allows things to move freely," Dr. John Early, with Texas Orthopedic Associates said.

Which means patients don't lose toe motion and can even put weight on it almost immediately.

"A lot of happy patients," Early said. "They're thrilled about the motion, they get a significant decrease in the moving pain directly after surgery."

The implant is currently approved in the United States for the big toe, but doctors in Europe are also using it in patients suffering from arthritis in other small joints in the hand and foot.

"It's been a decision I've never regretted at all," Reitmajer said.

She returned to her active lifestyle – pain free – just days after her surgery.

Because the Cartiva implant is FDA approved, it should be covered by most health insurance.

Clinical trials are underway to see if the artificial cartilage could be used in the joint that most commonly needs cartilage: the knee.