What are the advances made by our pain scientists using new ideas to treat osteonecrosis of the femur?

  Femoral osteonecrosis has been a problem for the global medical community. Especially since the introduction of hormones and their widespread use, the incidence of the disease has gradually increased. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently 30 million people with osteonecrosis of the femoral head worldwide, and about 4 million in China. Femoral head necrosis is mostly caused by hormones, alcoholism and trauma, manifesting as inflammation, edema, exudation, ischemia and necrosis of the femoral head, mainly manifesting as hip pain and limitation of movement, which can also lead to disability if not treated in time. The most effective treatment is arthroplasty. To date, there is no definitive conservative treatment available.  Recently, Dr. Jianxiong An, Secretary General of the World Association of Pain Physicians China, Secretary of the Pain Specialty Group of the Chinese Medical Association’s Anesthesiology Branch, and Director of the Pain Medicine Center of the Aviation General Hospital of China Medical University and the Beijing Institute of Translational Medicine of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, after years of research and clinical practice, discovered that the treatment of femoral head necrosis with precise injections under image guidance and systemic triple oxygen intervention is highly effective.  After taking hormones three years ago, he developed pain at night, had difficulty turning over, and had unbearable pain when moving around during the day. In the past three years, he has sought medical treatment at many hospitals and tried various methods such as traditional Chinese medicine, western medicine and physical therapy, spending his savings for many years, but no effect was seen. After being persuaded by other patients with femoral head necrosis, Mr. Wu reluctantly came to the hospital with a half-hearted attitude. With the help of advanced imaging methods such as MRI and CT 3D reconstruction technology, Director An Jianxiong made a diagnosis, and based on the precise design of the interventional puncture path, he used ultrasound to precisely administer drugs to the diseased femoral head under timely guidance to achieve anti-inflammatory and nutritional treatment. In view of Mr. Wu’s complications with rheumatoid and other internal diseases, Dr. An Jianxiong also gave Mr. Wu systemic triple oxygen intervention through autologous blood and rectum. After just one treatment, the pain disappeared, which greatly enhanced Mr. Wu’s confidence in treatment. After 2 consecutive months of treatment, Mr. Wu not only had a full improvement of his femoral head necrosis, but also had a negative rheumatoid factor and his elevated blood sedimentation returned to normal for the first time in two years. His morning stiffness was greatly improved, and his tendon sheath cyst disappeared. When he went on a trip with his friends, he climbed a 5-km mountain in 4 hours and was unharmed. The results were beyond the expectations of both the doctor and the patient. A year and a half later, a repeat MRI revealed that the original bone marrow edema of Mr. Wu’s femoral head had disappeared, which is a newly discovered important sign of femoral head necrosis in recent years.  The combination of imaging and computer technology provides unprecedented conditions for high quality minimally invasive interventions, and doctors can use these technologies to guide the transformation of blind puncture into visualized and precise interventions, thus achieving maximum efficacy with minimal damage and side effects. Dr. An also believes that abnormalities in the systemic internal environment are also important in the pathogenesis of localized lesions of the femoral head, since three of the four major causes of femoral head necrosis (hormone use, alcoholism and decompression sickness) are systemic factors, and the anti-inflammatory, immune boosting and metabolic mechanisms of blood or rectal triple oxygenation will undoubtedly contribute to the treatment of localized lesions of the femoral head. The work of Jianxiong An’s group has demonstrated that systemic modulation therapy can significantly improve the durability of the efficacy of femoral head necrosis treatment.