Greg Oden two weeks ago had the same controversial procedure on his knee for which Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez traveled to Germany, ESPN.com reports.
Oden, who has had four knee surgeries since being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, had the procedure, called Orthokine, performed in New York, according to the report.
The procedure involves a patient’s own blood being drawn, then being spun in a centrifuge to make a serum and then being injected into the knee. Doctors claim the blood then works to stop inflammation and reduce pain and cartilage damage, ESPN notes. Grizzlies guard Gilbert Arenas also has had the procedure.
"Greg had long planned to have this procedure done,'' a source told ESPN. "He thought he'd wait until his knee was completely healed (after his most recent surgery, in February), but the doctor said Greg would get the greatest benefit by doing it now because it would help his recovery.''
While Oden, who was released by the Blazers in February, said recently that he planned to take off the entire 2012-13 season to rehab his knee, his agent, Mike Conley, told the Miami Herald last week that Oden may be ready by December or January. ESPN reports there is no timetable for his return.
Oden is rehabbing at St. Vincent's Hospital in Indianapolis and has enrolled in summer classes at Ohio State.
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