Moderate arthritis, with joint space still there.
Kellgren-Lawrence grade II to III (the grade on your X-ray report), joint space preserved in at least one compartment. The profile we accept most often.
Knee surgery alternatives, side by side.
If a surgeon has said the word replacement, you were probably handed one option and came looking for the rest. Here are the options a knee patient is usually offered: what each does, what it doesn't, and how long it lasts. One of them is ours. Some of the others are the right call, and this page says which.
Ten questions, no email, no call. The result names a sensible next step for your knee.
Ours is one line
Eleven lines, from physical therapy to a total replacement. Cells, placed under live imaging at Hospital Angeles, Tijuana, are the one Celva offers.
The replacement stays open
The injection leaves your joint in place, so a replacement remains an option afterward.
Where cells sit on that list, and for which knees.
"I've had steroids in my knees. I've had injections of fluid in my knees to try to help. Nothing really seemed to work." Pete W. had climbed most of the list above before he called. Cells are evaluated for the knee in the middle of it: past the shots, short of the operation.
Strong fit
A frank conversation
Bone on bone, and told to wait.
Grade IV, sometimes with bone lost beneath the cartilage. A lower expected response than a moderate knee, and you hear that before any quote. Considered case by case.
Also a fit
You'd rather delay the replacement, or not need one.
We'll consider you after an honest forecast, not instead of one. Meniscus damage and wear after an old injury, where cortisone or PRP no longer holds, are read the same way.
Not a fit
A knee that gives way, or needs hardware.
Ligament instability that needs reconstruction, or a knee that needs hardware: surgery is the right tool, and we say so. A knee that suddenly turns hot, red and swollen, often with a fever, or that you can no longer stand on, needs urgent care today.
Candidacy is confirmed from your imaging and the call. When you arrive, the physicians examine the knee in person to plan how the treatment is done. The treatment day, step by step →
Who should skip the cells and have the replacement.
Some knees have run out of joint. A replacement is reliable at that end, and good surgery is good medicine. These are the knees the physician team sends back to a surgeon.
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The knee gives way
A ligament that needs reconstruction.
Cells don't hold an unstable knee together. That is an operation.
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The knee needs hardware
A joint too unstable to keep.
When only an implant can correct the structure, the implant is the answer.
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The knee runs your day
Bone on bone, bone loss beneath, and little you can still do.
The expected response to cells is lower here. If you still want to delay, we'll weigh it with you. If you want the dependable answer, it's the operation.
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You've decided
You've read both sides and want it done.
That is your call. Expect 1 to 2 hours in surgery under general or spinal anesthesia, 1 night to several in hospital, walking with support within a day or two, and typically 3 to 6 months before most daily activity feels normal.
When the physician team reads a knee like these, the answer is a surgeon, and we say so instead of quoting you.
Not sure which side of that line your knee is on? Ten questions, about 2 minutes.
Find your next step →After a knee injection, here is the clock.
No promises about outcomes. What you get is a schedule somebody keeps, by phone or video, from home.
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1 week
Sore first, and off the knee.
Soreness at the site for 24 to 72 hours is common. Stay off the knee with very limited activity for the first 7 to 10 days. At 1 week your patient coordinator or aftercare specialist calls, and a physician joins when needed.
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1 month
Physical therapy, not running.
Loading and strengthening inside physical therapy are fine. Outside it, avoid loading the knee for 4 to 6 weeks. Too early to judge the cells, and we say so.
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3 months
Where responders start to notice.
Stairs, time on your feet, the distance you had given up. Running and impact sport wait until weeks 8 to 12.
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6 months
The read that counts.
This call compares you with where you started. Whether a second treatment makes sense is decided at these reviews, then the calls go yearly.
Each call is measured against the knee you start with. The 2-minute check shows where that is.
Find your next step →Four steps, and the physician team decides at the third one.
Nobody is quoted, booked, or treated before the physician team has read your imaging.
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Call
A patient coordinator, about 15 minutes.
They take your history and tell you what to send. Nothing to commit to.
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Records
Whatever imaging you have.
An X-ray report, an MRI, or the films, plus a list of what you've tried. No recent imaging is fine too.
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Review
The physician team reads it.
Your imaging against your symptoms: candidate or not, one knee or both.
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Plan
A written plan, then a date.
A written answer, with a plan and an itemized quote for your case.
Steps 1 and 2 are the only ones you do. Take the call, send what you have, and the rest is ours.
Book a call →A needle in a knee joint, placed inside a hospital.
Celva operates inside Hospital Angeles Tijuana: a 116-bed private hospital, part of Angeles Health, one of Mexico's largest private hospital networks.
Medical Director
Dr. Cesar Amescua, MD
Anesthesiology & Sedation
Dr. Rocio Ambrosio Nuño, MD
Interventional Radiology
Dr. Alejandro Castillo, MD
Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine
Dr. Melina Mariscal, MD
The physicians on every chart. Full bios →
If it were ever needed
Typical MX cell-therapy clinic
Celva · Hospital Angeles
Imaging that needs a same-day read
Outside imaging center, 24 to 72 hour turnaround
Radiologist reads in-house, same-day report
Who is on site during your treatment
Whoever works there that day
The physician team, the anesthesiologist and hospital imaging, in the building for your session
Sedation for a procedure
Rarely available on site
Board-certified anesthesiology on site for your session
Ask any clinic what's in the building if a knee injection needs more than the room it's done in. Then ask us.
Find your next step →Knee-specific questions.
I only have an X-ray, or nothing recent. Is that enough to start?
Yes. Your surgeon most likely graded your knee from an X-ray, and the physician team can start from that report. Send whatever you have, images or the written report. If you have nothing, or it is years old, the scan can be done at Hospital Angeles before treatment.
I've already had arthroscopy on this knee. Does that rule me out?
No. A knee that is wearing faster after a meniscus or ligament injury, operated on or not, is one of the profiles the physician team evaluates. Dr. Kirk Lewis, in the films above, had 2 surgeries on his own knee before he came to us.
Both knees hurt. Can both be treated?
Yes, on the same day. Two knees means more physician time and a larger total dose, and the physician team decides from your imaging whether both are candidates.
Will insurance cover any of this?
A knee replacement is typically mostly covered by insurance. Cell therapy is not FDA-approved for these uses in the United States and is not covered by US insurers, so patients pay directly. HSA and FSA eligibility depends on your plan.
Will Celva talk to my surgeon?
If your surgeon wants to speak with the physician team, that can be arranged. You don't have to choose between us and them to start: the physician team's read is a second opinion on the same imaging.
The physician team. Your knee. A straight answer.
Start with 10 questions, no email asked. When you want a person, the first call is with a Celva patient coordinator, about 15 minutes, and the physician team answers in writing: a candidate for cells, or a knee that belongs with a surgeon.
These therapies are not FDA-approved. Treatments are performed in Mexico by licensed physicians in a hospital setting. Individual results may vary. Not medical advice.