A medical team from the Sport and Arthroscopy unit in the Orthopedic Surgery Department in King Fahd Hospital of the University has succeeded in the first cartilage transplant operation in the Eastern Province for the Athletes Champaign of the Kingdom: Ali Al Zaki, who is 34 years old and his injury has kept him away from competing for over one year.
Dr. Hassan Al Sayed, an Orthopedic Consultant and head of the medical team mentioned that "Latest techniques were used in this procedure in order to transplant healthy cartilage tissues in the affected area of the patient. Nevertheless, the success rate of this kind of operation averages between 65% to 95%. Also, after the operation the athlete will be subjected to a number of checkups as well as physical therapy appointments.
