01 · Orthobiologics and injections · 2025
Polyacrylamide hydrogel injections in knee osteoarthritis: A PROMs-based 24 month cohort study
- The established position
- Image-guided intra-articular injections (corticosteroid, hyaluronic acid, PRP) are the established non-surgical step for knee osteoarthritis, but most have a benefit measured in weeks to a few months, and longer-term cohort evidence for polyacrylamide hydrogel was thin.
- What Professor Lee added
- A 24-month prospective cohort of patient-reported outcomes after a single Arthrosamid polyacrylamide hydrogel injection, drawn from one of the largest UK Arthrosamid practices, showing the benefit held at two years in carefully selected patients.
- Why it matters for patients
- It gives patients and referrers durable, real-world evidence to weigh a single injection against repeat injections or replacement, and supports a considered place for the treatment in the pathway rather than a marketing claim.
Gao HCK, Akhtar M, Creedon C, Nar ÖO, Verma T, Lee PYF · Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma · 2025
02 · Regenerative orthopaedics · 2025
Outcomes of a Novel Percutaneous Achilles Tendon Repair Technique: A Retrospective Case Series
- The established position
- Acute Achilles tendon rupture is managed either non-operatively or with open surgical repair; open repair restores strength reliably but through a larger incision with a recognised wound-healing risk.
- What Professor Lee added
- A case series of a percutaneous (keyhole) Achilles repair technique, reporting outcomes for a less invasive way to achieve the same surgical goal.
- Why it matters for patients
- It offers a route to firm tendon repair with a smaller wound, building on, rather than abandoning, the proven principle that a repaired Achilles is a strong Achilles.
Akhtar M, Mahajan U, Teoh KH, Lee P · Cureus · 2025
03 · Imaging, motion analysis and AI · 2025
Empirical Validation of a Streamlined Three-Repetition Sit-to-Stand Protocol Using MAI Motion
- The established position
- The sit-to-stand test is a long-validated, gold-standard measure of lower-limb function, but the standard protocols (five repetitions, or as many as possible in thirty seconds) are awkward to capture reliably in a busy clinic and need trained observers.
- What Professor Lee added
- Empirical validation of a streamlined three-repetition sit-to-stand protocol captured with markerless MAI Motion analysis, showing it tracks the established test closely while being quick and camera-based.
- Why it matters for patients
- It turns a trusted functional test into something a clinic can run in minutes and repeat objectively over time, so a patient can see their own recovery measured rather than estimated.
Wen Y, Verma T, Whitehead JP, Lee P · Applied Sciences · 2025
04 · Imaging, motion analysis and AI · 2024
A marker-less human motion analysis system for motion-based biomarker identification and quantification in knee disorders
- The established position
- Gait and movement analysis is well established in research labs, but the gold-standard marker-based motion-capture systems are expensive, lab-bound and impractical for routine knee clinics.
- What Professor Lee added
- A marker-less human motion analysis system that identifies and quantifies movement-based biomarkers in knee disorders from ordinary camera footage, validated against the established approach.
- Why it matters for patients
- It moves objective movement measurement out of the lab and into the clinic, so changes in how a knee actually moves can inform decisions and track recovery for everyday patients, not just research subjects.
Armstrong K, Zhang L, Wen Y, Willmott AP, Lee P, Ye X · Frontiers in Digital Health · 2024
05 · Regenerative orthopaedics · 2022
An Observational Study Evaluating the Efficacy of Microfragmented Adipose Tissue in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis
- The established position
- Osteoarthritis is conventionally managed with analgesia, physiotherapy, injections and, in time, joint replacement; biological options such as microfragmented adipose (fat) tissue were promising but under-evidenced.
- What Professor Lee added
- An observational study evaluating microfragmented adipose tissue in osteoarthritis, adding structured outcome data to a treatment that had been offered ahead of its evidence base.
- Why it matters for patients
- It helps patients judge a biological injection on evidence rather than enthusiasm, and clarifies where it sits alongside the proven steps of the osteoarthritis pathway.
Fan F, Grant RA, Whitehead JP, Yewlett A, Lee PYF · Regenerative Medicine · 2022
06 · Knee replacement · 2019
The midterm results of a cohort study of patellofemoral arthroplasty from a non-designer centre using an asymmetric trochlear prosthesis
- The established position
- Total knee replacement is the default for advanced arthritis, but for disease confined to the patellofemoral (kneecap) compartment, patellofemoral arthroplasty preserves the rest of the knee. Its results were mostly reported by the centres that designed the implants.
- What Professor Lee added
- Midterm outcomes of patellofemoral arthroplasty from an independent, non-designer centre, testing whether the partial-replacement results hold up away from the implant designers.
- Why it matters for patients
- It gives patients independent evidence for a joint-preserving alternative to total replacement when only the kneecap compartment is worn, supporting a more conservative first operation.
Rammohan R, Gupta S, Lee PYF, Chandratreya A · Knee · 2019
07 · ACL and sports knee injuries · 2019
Key to Success in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Surgery: Pre-Tensioning in the Tape Locking Screw Method
- The established position
- ACL reconstruction using a graft is the gold-standard treatment for the unstable ACL-deficient knee, and graft fixation and tensioning are the details that decide whether the new ligament stays tight.
- What Professor Lee added
- A focused account of pre-tensioning in the tape locking screw fixation method, refining the technical step that protects graft tension in reconstruction.
- Why it matters for patients
- Better graft tension means a more stable knee and a more dependable return to sport, improving the established operation rather than proposing a different one.
Hasan A, Yewlett AD, Marudanayagam A, Lee PYF · Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma · 2019
08 · ChondroFiller and cartilage regeneration · 2019
Single Treatment Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation: The Next Generation of ACI
- The established position
- Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) and matrix-assisted ACI (MACI) are the established cell-based cartilage repair techniques, but they are two-stage operations: cells are harvested at one surgery, grown in a laboratory, then implanted weeks later at a second surgery.
- What Professor Lee added
- A framing of single-stage autologous chondrocyte implantation (STACi) that delivers cartilage cells in one operation, building directly on the proven ACI principle rather than replacing it.
- Why it matters for patients
- It points toward cartilage repair that spares patients a second operation and a long wait, while keeping the biological logic that made ACI a recognised treatment in the first place.
Taylor A, Lee PYF · Canadian Journal of Biomedical Research & Technology / Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma · 2019
09 · Cartilage and joint preservation · 2017
Unloading knee brace is a cost-effective method to bridge and delay surgery in unicompartmental knee arthritis
- The established position
- Single-compartment (unicompartmental) knee arthritis is reliably treated with partial or total knee replacement, the established surgical answer once non-surgical measures run out.
- What Professor Lee added
- Evidence, published in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, that an unloading knee brace is a cost-effective way to bridge and delay surgery, formally measuring an option many surgeons used informally.
- Why it matters for patients
- It gives patients a proven, lower-risk step to try before replacement, so surgery is timed when it is genuinely needed rather than by default.
Lee PYF, Winfield TG, Harris SRS, et al · BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine · 2017
10 · Hip surgery and SPAIRE · 2016
Personalized Medicine for Metal on Metal Hip Resurfacing: Predictors for the 10 Years Success of the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing
- The established position
- The Birmingham Hip Resurfacing is a long-established, well-documented option for the right (typically younger, active) patient, with national-registry data on which implants and patients do well.
- What Professor Lee added
- A predictive analysis identifying the patient and surgical factors behind ten-year success, moving the conversation from average registry survival toward whether resurfacing suits this individual.
- Why it matters for patients
- It supports a personalised choice between resurfacing and conventional replacement, so the proven technique is offered to the patients most likely to benefit from it.
Kuiper JH, Lee PYF, Heaton P, Qureshi A, Richardson J · Journal of Arthritis · 2016
