Synvisc

This stuff sounds like a real breakthrough. A 98 year old resident where I work has just gotten the injections. She had no cartilage left in her knees and sometimes you could hear the bones grind together--very painful. She told me that over the course of the week the liquid that was injected will form into a soft solid, acting as an artificial cartilage. It sounds very beneficial for those for whom surgery might be counterindicated due to extremely advanced age or other complicating conditions.
Every now and then, the medical community comes up with something really wonderful. Synvisc seems like it's one of those things.