Iovera is a great option to block pain around the knee without the use of medicines

Common uses:

• Prior to knee replacement surgery to reduce pain and need for opioid pain medicine

• Arthritis related pain to avoid knee replacement

• Chronic painful knee conditions when surgery is not an option or other treatments have failed

Dr. Dekker performs the procedure himself right in the office at the Rochester location. The procedure involves locating the sensory nerves that control pain around the knee using ultrasound visualization. Once the nerves are located, the area is numbed and then the Iovera needle is guided to the nerve and the treatment of cryoneurolysis (freezing) is performed. Iovera works by creating an ice ball at the tip of the needle (watch video below demonstrating the ice ball formation). This partially destroys the nerve and blocks any pain signals from travelling to the brain and therefore blocks any pain coming from the treated nerve, The nerve is not permanently damaged and will regenerate in time, typically about 3 months from treatment. This is repeated anywhere from 3-8 times depending on how many nerves are located. The procedure takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes. The goal is that you are able to walk out of the clinic with little to no pain!