Ronald Hillock, MD, an adult joint reconstruction surgeon and musculoskeletal oncologist at Nevada Orthopedic & Spine Center in Las Vegas, connected with Becker's to answer, "Are orthobiologics overhyped?"
Note: This response has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Dr. Ronald Hillock: Orthobiologics is a label applied to a broad range of therapies. The name itself implies enhanced treatment through harnessed natural biologic processes. This includes everything from concentrated bioactive exogenous compounds to autologous derived prepared compounds like Bone Morphogenic Proteins to autologous tissues preparations, like [platelet-rich plasma]. The idea is too wide, and the vocabulary needs to be more precise. We need to clearly define subcategories of biologically active treatments.
Much like surgery, the informed practitioner employs the most specific treatment methods to achieve desired outcomes. I see the extended medical community beyond orthopedic surgery marketing claims of "wonder cures" through biological agents such as embryonic stem cell preparations. Most of those offering stem cell treatments are not surgeons. The stem cell space is dominated by pain management and family practice clinics in my neck of the woods.
I am all for progress and openly embrace new technology if it is supported by peer-reviewed outcome studies. Evidence-based medicine is what we should all be basing our clinical decisions upon. I hope there are multiple ongoing clinical studies exploring the benefits of biologic therapies. I look forward to learning from outcome studies when these novel treatment options will be ready for my patients. Color me skeptical until we have more data from which we can base future treatment recommendations.