August 19, 2025
Contact: Brian Consiglio, consigliob@missouri.edu
Photo courtesy of Molly Jones
Researchers at the University of Missouri are on a mission to help patients recover from hip surgery with less pain, and they may have found an innovative solution: using the patient’s own cartilage cells.
Molly Jones, a Mizzou medical student, contributed to a recent Mizzou study aimed at helping those with a hip issue known as femoral acetabular impingement (FAI). Those with FAI have a bony bump called a CAM lesion that constantly scrapes and grinds into the hip socket, causing pain and joint problems.
Currently, doctors remove the CAM lesion — which is covered in cartilage — from the hip through surgery, and the cartilage is typically thrown away. But at Mizzou, Jones and her team are asking whether that cartilage, once removed, can be grown in a lab and eventually reimplanted into the patient’s hip to aid in healing.
In the study, the research team collected cartilage removed during hip surgeries. They discovered that cartilage cells, or chondrocytes, can be cultured and expanded in the lab, opening the door to future clinical applications.
This scientific breakthrough could one day enable surgeons to return lab-grown cartilage to the hip joint, potentially reducing pain and accelerating post-operative recovery. The research symbolizes Mizzou’s pursuit of cutting-edge, next-generation medicine.
“It’s exciting to be a part of innovative medical research that can help doctors treat pain and ultimately improve the quality of life for people struggling with FAI,” Jones said. “As a former college golfer who has had wrist surgery, I have always been interested in the anatomy of bones and joints. This research furthers my interest in orthopaedic surgery.”
Jones is currently completing her clinical training in Springfield, Missouri, as part of her third year at Mizzou’s School of Medicine. The study was conducted in the Thompson Regenerative Orthopaedic Lab at the Missouri Orthopaedic Institute on Mizzou’s campus, in partnership with Steven DeFroda, an orthopaedic surgeon in the School of Medicine.
“The faculty at Mizzou are very collaborative and support students interested in research,” Jones said. “It makes me proud to be at Mizzou, and I’m excited about where this research can go moving forward.”
“Viability of chondrocytes harvested during treatment of hip femoroacetabular impingement” was published in Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery.