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Non-Surgical Osteoarthritis Treatment in Iasi

Arthrosis of the knee, hip or another joint treated with SVF cells and PRP. Your X-rays or MRI are reviewed free of charge to confirm the stage

Consultation and review of your scansFree

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Knee joint: regenerative treatment without surgery
Joint treatment without surgery. Free consultation and review of your scans

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What it is

What is osteoarthritis
(arthrosis)?

In osteoarthritis, sometimes called arthrosis, the joint's cartilage lining wears away bit by bit over years. That cartilage normally absorbs shock; once it breaks down, bone rubs on bone and the joint becomes painful, stiff and less mobile. It is a disease of wear rather than inflammation, even if episodes of swelling happen.

  • No surgery — an injection instead of an operation
  • Own tissue — your blood and adipose tissue
  • Ultrasound guidance for every injection
Knee joint: an injection under ultrasound guidance

Who the treatment suits

Suitability for treatment is decided by a doctor, following an examination and a look at your scans

Suitable

A doctor reviews knee X-rays with a patient
  • Pain, crunching or stiffness in a joint
  • Painkillers only help for a short time
  • Recovery after injuries and surgery
  • You need a second opinion on your scans
  • You want to avoid or postpone joint replacement
  • Early or moderate arthrosis or arthritis
  • High load on the joints — sport or physical work

Not suitable

A doctor examines a patient's knee
  • Cancer
  • Pregnancy
  • Blood clotting disorders
  • Acute infections, including infection in or near the joint
  • Flare-up of a serious chronic illness
  • Temporary contraindications: inflammation of the skin over the joint to be treated, fever, a cold or flu

Not sure the treatment is right for you?

Leave your number — the coordinator will ask for your scans (X-ray, MRI or ultrasound), and the doctor will tell you whether treatment without surgery suits you.

Find out if it suits me

What we treat

Conditions we treat

How it works

How the procedure goes: step by step

Consultation and scan review1

Consultation and scan review

The doctor examines the joint, reviews your X-rays, MRI or ultrasound and decides whether the procedure suits you. If you already have scans, you can send them before the visit.

Blood sample for PRP2

Blood sample for PRP

A little blood is drawn from a vein; platelet-rich plasma with growth factors is prepared from it later.

Adipose tissue sample3

Adipose tissue sample

A small portion of adipose tissue (about 30 ml) is taken under local anaesthetic through a puncture on the abdomen or inner thigh. There is no need for stitches.

Processing in a centrifuge4

Processing in a centrifuge

The sample is spun in a centrifuge and separates into layers. The stromal vascular fraction is isolated and mixed with the platelet-rich plasma.

Injection into the joint5

Injection into the joint

Using ultrasound guidance, the doctor injects the prepared material directly into the affected joint so it is placed precisely.

Follow-up6

Follow-up

No crutches are needed and there is no hospital stay. The doctor keeps in touch after the procedure to see how the joint responds.

Book a consultation

Call or message us — our coordinator will contact you shortly and book your consultation

A doctor talks with a patient about joint treatment
Book a consultation
A doctor talks with a patient about joint treatment

Results

After the procedure

  • Doctor talking warmly with a patient after the procedure

    1 week

    The joint may ache a little more — this is an expected reaction.

  • Doctor consulting an older patient one month after treatment

    1 month

    The pain usually eases.

  • Doctor explaining progress to a patient using a knee joint model

    ~3 months

    Mobility and activity improve.

  • Doctor and patient walking together at a follow-up visit

    ~6 months

    The full effect develops.

How long it lasts differs from person to person and depends on the stage of the condition, body weight, activity and other factors — no one can promise a fixed result.

Comparison

Methods we use

Only material from your body — blood and adipose tissue — no donor or synthetic products

Cell therapy (SVF) from your own adipose tissue

The method uses the stromal vascular fraction (SVF), a mix of cells that support tissue repair, isolated by processing a small sample of your adipose tissue. It is injected into the affected joint along with your own plasma.

A doctor explains SVF cell therapy for the knee to a patient on a tablet

Its main use is at early and moderate stages of osteoarthritis, to slow the wear of cartilage and lessen friction between the joint surfaces.

Material
Your adipose tissue and plasma
How it is given
Into the joint, under ultrasound
Duration
The whole procedure is done in one day.

PRP — platelet-rich plasma from your own blood

Plasma rich in platelets and growth factors is separated from a small amount of your blood and injected into the joint. It helps calm inflammation and creates better conditions for tissue repair.

A doctor explains PRP therapy for joints to a patient on a monitor

Used often in mild osteoarthritis, it is added to SVF when a more pronounced effect is required.

Material
Your blood from a vein
How it is given
Into the joint, under ultrasound
Duration
The whole procedure is done in one day.

The benefits and timings shown are averaged and given for guidance: the plan and recovery depend on your joint and individual features, and the doctor confirms them at the consultation.

At the consultation the doctor will review your scans and suggest a treatment plan

Free consultation

Book a consultation

Joints

Joints we treat

Small and large joints are treated; the doctor determines the joint, method and number of injections after looking at your scans

  • KneeKneeWorn cartilage, meniscus problems, pain after walking and on stairs
  • HipHipEarly hip osteoarthritis, groin pain, limited rotation
  • ShoulderShoulderPain when raising the arm, wear of the joint and surrounding tendons
  • ElbowElbowPain from overuse or sports load, with worn joint surfaces
  • Hand and wrist jointsHand and wrist jointsPain with stiffness in the small joints of fingers and wrist
  • AnkleAnklePain and stiffness after sprains and old injuries

Advantages

Why patients choose City Medical Centre

We aim to preserve your own joint rather than replace it, with treatment that avoids surgery

Your own tissue

Your own tissue

Only material from your body — blood and adipose tissue — no donor or synthetic products

No crutches

No crutches

Done through punctures under local anaesthetic, without incisions or long rehabilitation

Second opinion

Second opinion

Your X-rays, MRI or reports are assessed independently by a doctor at no charge once you send them

Support after the procedure

Support after the procedure

After the procedure, we keep in touch and watch the result — our work does not end on the injection day

About the clinic

A clinic where you can feel at ease

Modern equipment, comfortable rooms and care for every patient

A doctor and a patient at the clinic

Contact us the way that suits you

We will answer your questions and find a convenient time for a consultation

By messaging us, you agree to our Privacy Policy

Request a free call

Price

Osteoarthritis treatment prices

Cost varies with the stage of osteoarthritis, the joint and the method — the doctor states it after the consultation

FAQ

Joint treatment: frequently asked questions

About the conditions

More about these conditions

Other services of our clinic

Choosing osteoarthritis treatment in Iasi

Knee and hip osteoarthritis are the most common reasons patients from Iasi consider joint replacement. SVF and PRP therapy is a way to try to delay or avoid surgery while the joint can still be preserved.

Treatment starts with a consultation and a review of your X-rays or MRI to assess the stage. Then blood and a small adipose tissue sample are taken, processed in a centrifuge and injected into the joint under ultrasound guidance. For patients from Iasi, it is done in one day.

Book a free consultation in Iasi to find out whether SVF or PRP could slow your osteoarthritis. The doctor names the price after examining the joint.

Seven hills, a river valley and what they ask of your knees

Iasi sits on the Bahlui river, a tributary of the Jijia, which flows on into the Prut. The city is built across hills that are commonly counted as seven: Breazu, Bucium, Cetatuia, Copou, Galata, Repedea and Sorogari. Its elevation runs from about 34.5 m to almost 355 m, with a typical figure of 60 m. For someone with cartilage wear, such figures are more than trivia. Gonarthrosis, the knee form of osteoarthritis, tends to show itself on slopes and steps, and so does early coxarthrosis in the hip. If the way down from one of those hills has begun to hurt, or the groin aches after a long walk, that is worth noting for the consultation.

Osteoarthritis is the slow, chronic wearing of the cartilage that lines a joint. Healthy cartilage softens impact. When it thins, the bone ends rub, and the joint becomes painful, stiff and less mobile. The condition is degenerative rather than inflammatory, although flare-ups with swelling do occur. The knees and hips carry the greatest load and are affected most often, followed by the ankle and the small joints of the hand.

The city has about 271,692 residents in the municipality, 423,154 in the wider metropolitan area and 760,774 in Iasi County. With a population of that size, a wide range of joint histories is to be expected: old sports injuries, years of physical work, meniscus trouble, and plain age-related wear. The online consultation is built for this variety. You send your X-ray, MRI or ultrasound through WhatsApp or Telegram, and a doctor reviews the scans free of charge. The doctor then tells you what stage the joint is at and whether a non-surgical plan is realistic.

The treatment is aimed at early and moderate stages, before the joint surfaces are badly worn. Doctors usually describe four stages, from early thinning of the cartilage to severe wear. Injection treatment is most often considered in the first two. If the joint is already destroyed, the doctor will say so frankly, and a joint replacement may be the more realistic route. An honest answer on that point is the main reason to send scans before making any plans.

What a January high of 1.3 °C means for a stiff joint

The weather record for Iasi, measured at the city's station over 1991-2020, gives a January mean high of only 1.3 °C and a mean low of -5.1 °C. July is quite different, with a mean high of 29.0 °C and a low of 16.3 °C. August is close behind at 28.8 °C and 15.6 °C. The annual mean high is 16.0 °C, and the climate is classed as Koppen Dfb. The recorded extremes are 41.3 °C and -36.3 °C, the latter in February.

Humidity follows the same swing. It averages 70% over the year, climbing to 83% in December and dropping to 60% in July. Snowfall averages 61.8 cm a year in the older 1961-1990 normals, with 14.3 cm in February and 11.3 cm in January. Sunshine totals 2,083.5 hours a year, but only 61.5 hours in December against 291.2 in July.

What does this mean for osteoarthritis? Cold weather does not cause cartilage wear, and no figure in the medical material suggests that it does. Many patients with arthrosis do report that joints feel stiffer on cold, damp mornings. It is worth separating two kinds of stiffness. In osteoarthritis the pain is usually aching and tied to movement, with crunching and stiffness after rest. In arthritis, an inflammatory condition, there is pain at rest and at night, morning stiffness lasting more than 30 minutes, swelling, redness and warmth. If your winter complaints look like the second picture, the doctor will want blood tests as well as scans, because the treatment approach differs.

Short winter daylight and icy pavements also reduce how much people walk. Yet suitable activity matters for cartilage: it builds the muscles that unload the joint and keeps the tissue better fed. Swimming, water aerobics, cycling, Nordic walking and yoga are the options named in the medical material. Running on hard surfaces, jumping, heavy lifting and sudden movements are best avoided. A cold season is therefore a good moment to plan indoor, low-impact exercise alongside any injection treatment, not instead of one.

Summer matters for scheduling too. There is no need to wait for a particular season, because the whole procedure is done in one day. Some patients like to have the injection before the colder months so that the early reaction has passed. That reaction is an expected slight increase in aching during the first week. Whatever your choice, the doctor confirms the timing after seeing your scans.

Students, tram riders and pilgrims: how daily load adds up

Iasi has more than 60,000 students in five public universities. Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, founded in 1860, had 24,047 students in 2019-2020 and has 15 faculties. A young population does not usually mean osteoarthritis, yet joints can be damaged early by injuries. Pain after an old sprain, a torn meniscus or a sports strain can bring wear in the ankle or knee long before middle age. The doctor reviews cases like these as well, including rehabilitation after injuries and surgery. Pain and stiffness after sprains and old injuries is how ankle problems often show up.

The public transport network also says something about daily load. CTP Iasi runs 126 trams and 150 buses and carried 50,358,000 passengers in 2014. Electric trams have run in the city since 1900. Boarding, standing in a moving vehicle and climbing steps repeatedly are small loads, but they matter for an arthritic knee or hip. If you rely on trams and buses, tell the coordinator how many stops you can manage without pain. That is useful information about how your joint behaves in everyday movement.

Sport has a long record here. FC Politehnica Iasi plays at the Emil Alexandrescu Stadium, and CS Politehnica Iasi has a basketball section from 1967 and a rugby section from 1964. Jumping, sudden turns and contact are exactly the movements that load cartilage. High load on the joints, whether from sport or physical work, is one of the factors listed as suiting the treatment, along with early or moderate arthrosis and recovery after injuries. Body weight is another factor that affects both the wear and how long the result lasts, along with the stage of the condition and activity level. Controlling weight, regular exercise and cooperation with a doctor make a real difference.

The city's calendar is also busy. Each year around 14 October, the Saint Parascheva pilgrimage draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims during the Celebration Days. Hangariada takes place each May, the International Theatre Festival for Young Audience each October, and FILIT and Afterhills have run since 2013 and 2017. Large events mean long periods of standing and walking. If your knee or hip hurts after a day on your feet, that is a reasonable thing to describe to the doctor.

Insurance, co-payments and what to ask before deciding

Romania's social health insurance is run by CNAS, the Casa Nationala de Asigurari de Sanatate. It manages a basic package of services that covers medical services, medicines, sanitary materials and medical devices. Free procedures within that system require a health card showing paid insurance. EU citizens and uninsured Romanians receive free emergency care. Since April 2019, insured people may pay the difference between private-provider tariffs and the fund's fees. CNAS has also begun introducing co-payments for services that are not strictly medically necessary.

Out-of-pocket payments in Romania were about 21% of total health expenditure, compared with an EU average of 15%. That figure is dated local records data, so treat it as a rough indication only. The system is described as hospital-centric, with a shortage of healthcare workers. In practice, this means many people look for a faster first opinion on their scans before deciding on anything.

For this treatment we cannot say that CNAS will cover it. The facts available do not show that regenerative injections are in the basic package. For this reason, the online consultation is free and carries no obligation to book. The doctor quotes the cost after the consultation, because it depends on the joint, the method and the stage of osteoarthritis. The price table lists the consultation and scan review as free, and PRP therapy and cell therapy (SVF + PRP) for one joint as priced at the consultation.

Useful questions to ask your insurer or family doctor are whether a private procedure of this kind is reimbursed in any form, and whether scans already taken within the insured system can be released to you in digital form. A family-doctor referral may be needed for imaging in the insured system. Obtaining the files before the consultation saves time. Existing results, whether X-ray, MRI, ultrasound or blood tests, can be reviewed by the doctor free of charge.

Planning the procedure around holidays and the six months afterwards

Romania has 15 non-working days a year: 1-2 January, 24 January, Orthodox Easter from Friday to Monday, 1 May, 1 June, Pentecost Sunday and Monday, 15 August, 30 November, 1 December and 25-26 December. Orthodox Easter Sunday falls on 2 May 2027. For planning, note that the online coordinators answer round the clock, 24/7, on WhatsApp and Telegram, so the consultation does not have to wait for a working day. The reply time is stated as within 15 minutes.

The procedure itself has six steps. First comes the consultation and scan review. Then a small blood sample is taken from a vein to prepare platelet-rich plasma. Under local anaesthetic, the doctor collects about 30 ml of adipose tissue through a puncture on the abdomen or the inner thigh, with no stitches needed. The sample is spun in a centrifuge, the stromal vascular fraction is isolated and blended with the plasma, and the mixture is injected into the affected joint under ultrasound guidance. There are no crutches and no hospital stay. Afterwards the doctor keeps in touch and follows how the joint responds.

The timeline is averaged and given as guidance. In the first week the joint may ache a little more. By about one month the pain usually eases. Around three months mobility and activity improve, and at about six months the full effect develops. Many patients notice early changes 2-3 weeks after the procedure. How long the result lasts differs from person to person and cannot be promised. Because osteoarthritis is chronic, it requires an ongoing plan, not a one-off injection.

Some conditions rule the procedure out, including cancer, pregnancy, blood clotting disorders, acute infections (including infection in or near the joint) and a flare-up of a serious chronic illness. Temporary reasons to wait are a raised temperature, a cold or flu, and inflamed skin above the target joint. With Iasi's damp, cold winters bringing respiratory infections, a cold on the planned day is a realistic reason to rebook. Tell the coordinator if you feel unwell.

Is it worth sending my scans in winter, when my joints hurt most?

Yes. Scans can be sent at any time, and the doctor reviews them free of charge. Mean January highs in Iasi are only 1.3 °C, and many people with arthrosis notice more stiffness in the cold. The scans show the actual stage of the joint, however, which does not change with the weather. If the pain is mainly at rest and at night, with swelling and warmth, the doctor may suspect an inflammatory condition and ask for blood tests as well.

Does Romanian health insurance cover SVF or PRP injections for osteoarthritis?

The facts available show that CNAS manages a basic package covering medical services, medicines, sanitary materials and medical devices. They do not show that these injections are included. Free procedures require a health card with paid insurance, and insured people may pay the difference between private tariffs and the fund's fees. The doctor quotes the cost after the consultation. It is sensible to ask your insurer or family doctor how a private procedure would be treated in your case.

I walk up and down the city's hills every day. Will that matter for my knee?

The knees and hips bear the most load, so slopes and steps are a common trigger for pain in gonarthrosis. The doctor will ask which movements hurt most. Suitable exercise helps the muscles that unload the joint, while jumping, heavy lifting and sudden movements are best avoided. Tell the coordinator whether the pain appears going up, going down or after a long walk.

I am a student and my knee hurts after an old sports injury. Is this osteoarthritis?

It might be, but wear after an injury can also involve the meniscus or other tissues. The service covers meniscus pathology and injury and rehabilitation after injuries and surgery. Send your X-ray or MRI, and the doctor will assess the stage and say whether a non-surgical plan is suitable or whether another approach is more realistic.

How should I prepare for the consultation from home?

Gather any X-rays, MRI or ultrasound images and blood test results you already have. Note which joint hurts, when the pain is worst, and whether painkillers help only for a short time. Mention any cold, fever, inflamed skin over the joint, pregnancy, clotting problems or serious chronic illness, since these affect suitability. The coordinator will ask for the scans, and the doctor will go through them during the consultation.

Can I schedule the procedure around public holidays?

The coordinators answer round the clock, 24/7, so booking is not limited to working days. The procedure takes one day. Romania has 15 non-working days, including Orthodox Easter, which falls on 2 May 2027. Still, leave a margin for the first week, when the joint may ache a little more, and avoid scheduling it on a day when you have a cold or a raised temperature.

What should I do about stiffness in cold, damp weather while waiting for a decision?

Stay moving with low-impact activity such as swimming, water aerobics, cycling, Nordic walking or yoga. Keep body weight under control, since weight influences how long any result lasts. Do not rely only on painkillers if they help just for a short time; that is one of the signs listed as a reason to ask for a doctor's opinion on your scans.

How long before I know whether the joint has responded?

Early changes are noticed by many patients 2-3 weeks after the procedure. In the first week the joint may ache more, which is an expected reaction. The pain usually eases at around one month, mobility improves at about three months, and the full effect develops at about six months. These timings are averages, and the doctor stays in touch to follow how your joint responds.