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UrduThe Arnold I. Caplan Award recognizes. Dr. Saris for the development and testing of the knee joint restoration procedure RECLAIM (Recycled Cartilage Auto/Allo Implantation). The RECLAIM procedure debrides the patient’s knee defect by removing cartilage from the knee or hip, mincing the pieces into smaller fragments and extracting cartilage cells through chemical digestion to the level of the chondron. The recycled autologous chondrons are combined with allogeneic donor MSCs and injected into the patient’s knee defect with a mixture of the patient’s cells. This procedure enables the patient’s body to repair the cartilage defect, something it otherwise would be unable to do.
“Dr. Caplan’s work opened a new terrain of therapeutic options. My research carries on from his legacy by demonstrating that combining native cartilage cells and allogeneic MSCs can be a good partnership,” said Dr. Saris professor of orthopaedics and regenerative medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and professor of reconstructive surgery at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands. “We were able to show that it is possible to recycle a patient’s own cartilage if you add donor MSCs to the mix. The donor MSCs clean the environment and the growth factors allow the patient’s own cartilage to grow. Our clinical work proved what Caplan discovered is actually possible in the human knee.”
AAOS Committee on Devices, Biologics and Technology Chair Jason L. Dragoo, MD, FAAOS, praised Dr. Saris’ research for its long-term potential impact on patient care. He noted: “Dr. Caplan laid the groundwork by revolutionizing our understanding of MSCs and their therapeutic uses. Now, Dr. Saris and his team are taking that foundational lab research and advancing it further, showing the same innovative spirit in their mission to improve patients’ quality of life.”
The Caplan Award, created through the generosity of the Caplan family with funding overseen by the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, recognizes excellence in orthobiologics research. The award includes a desktop recognition piece and a $10,000 monetary prize. Dr. Saris will be honored at the AAOS 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego.
To read the research impact statement, click here. For more information about the AAOS’ investment in evidence-based educational orthobiologics content, visit www.aaos.org/quality.
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About the AAOS
With more than 39,000 members, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is the world’s largest medical association of musculoskeletal specialists. The AAOS is the trusted leader in advancing musculoskeletal health. It provides the highest quality, most comprehensive education to help orthopaedic surgeons and allied health professionals at every career level to best treat patients in their daily practices. The AAOS is the source for information on bone and joint conditions, treatments and related musculoskeletal healthcare issues; and it leads the healthcare discussion on advancing quality.
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About the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF)
An independent 501(c)3 nonprofit, OREF strives to improve clinical care and patient outcomes by advancing innovative research, developing new investigators, and uniting the orthopaedic community in promoting musculoskeletal health. The Foundation raises funds to support research on diseases and injuries of bones, nerves, muscles, and tendons and to enhance clinical care leading to improved health, increased activity, and a better quality of life for patients. For more information, visit oref.org or follow OREF on X and LinkedIn.
