About New Mexico Cartilage Restoration Center

Welcome to New Mexico Cartilage Restoration Center
New Mexico Cartilage Restoration Center is dedicated to bringing cutting edge science to our patients. We are in the forefront of the nation in using established methods of restoring joint function and are part of pioneering efforts for the future.

This site is for anyone who has problems in the shoulder, elbow, knee and ankle. We have tried to present a comprehensive picture of each of these problem areas and to give a limited review of scientific information (link to Bibliography) on selected complex topics. For patients thinking about surgical alternatives there is information on surgical procedures and postoperative care.

Damage to joint cartilage has historically meant continued decline in function. Our best hope was to slow or limit the process of degeneration. New treatments are allowing us to restore joint surfaces with the patient's own cartilage. Cartilage restoration can also involve the following procedures:
               • transplanting healthy cartilage from one part of the joint into a damaged area                  (e.g. OATS Procedure, Mosaicplasty);
               • OBI Synthetic bone and cartilage replacement
               • harvesting and cultering the patient's own tissue and reimplanting it into a                  damaged area (Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation);
               • transplanting cartilage from donors to replace injured tissue (Meniscus Transplantation                  and Osteochondral Allografts).

Because cartilage restoration is not right for everyone, we continue to provide the full range of care for patients with shoulder, elbow, knee and ankle problems using the most up to date methods. This includes minimally invasive techniques for the following procedures:
               • Shoulder stabilization
               • Rotator cuff repair
               • Labral and biceps tendon repairs
               • ACL & PCL reconstruction
               • Patellar stabilization
               • HTO (High Tibial Osteotomy)
               • Unicompartmental knee replacement / Total knee replacement
               • Elbow arthroscopy
               • Ankle arthroscopy

Contact Information
We are located in the Professional Building attached to the Presbyterian Hospital Center in Albuquerque New Mexico. We are part of New Mexico Orthopedics and occupy the sixth floor of the Professional Building.

Cartilage Restoration Center of New Mexico
201 Cedar SE Suite 6600
Albuquerque, NM 87106
Phone: (505) 724-4300 (appts)
Email: Please direct email to tabetsk@nmortho.net.

*We cannot make diagnoses or give specific treatement information via email.

Samuel K Tabet, M.D.
Board Certified in Orthopedics since 1983
Dr. Tabet was raised in Albuquerque where he was an All_State athlete and scholar at Albuquerque Academy. He went to University of Texas-El Paso and University of Portland on basketball and baseball scholarships. He graduated with honors with a Chemistry degree from the University of Portland in Portland Oregon. He attended medical school at the University of New Mexico. At UNM he was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. Following medical school he did Surgical and Orthopedic residency at the University of Oregon. He returned to the University of Oregon at Eugene for Sports Medicine training and then studied arthroscopy with Lanny Johnson, M.D. in East Lansing, Michigan.

He has been in practice in Albuquerque since 1981. During this time he has maintained the highest standards of practice. He was the first person in the state to do meniscus transplants and cartilage restoration procedures and currently continues to concentrate his practice on these procedures. He has lectured in the United States and Europe on advanced orthopedic procedures.

Dr. Tabet has been married for 28 years and is the father of two daughters. He is an active runner, competitive tennis player, fisherman, hunter, scuba diver, and snow boarder.

Memberships
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
Arthroscopy Association of North America
New Mexico Orthopedic Association
Western Orthopedic Association
Sports Medicine Committee of the Greater Albuquerque Medical Association
Clinical Faculty University of New Mexico Medical School.
International Cartilage Research Society
Advisor DePuy Orthobiologics
Advisory Board Carticel

SIS-Men Meniscal Regeneration - Investigator

Trial Information: Meniscal Implant in Subjects Undergoing Partial Medial Meniscectomy (Reminisc)