GAE Procedure in Jacksonville, FL: Genicular Artery Embolization for Knee Pain
If you have been told your only remaining option is a knee replacement — and you are not ready, not eligible, or simply not willing — genicular artery embolization deserves a serious look.
GAE is an image-guided, catheter-based procedure that reduces the abnormal blood flow feeding inflammation inside an arthritic knee. No incision, no implant, no hospital stay. At Well&You it is one of several approaches in our knee pain and osteoarthritis program, and it is performed by physicians who spend their careers navigating catheters through blood vessels — which is exactly the skill set this procedure demands.
What GAE Actually Does
An arthritic knee is not just a mechanical problem. The inflamed synovial lining grows an abnormal network of new blood vessels, and those vessels carry inflammatory cells and pain-transmitting nerve fibers directly into the joint. This process is called neoangiogenesis, and it is a significant driver of the pain you feel.
GAE targets that network. Using X-ray guidance, an interventional physician advances a micro-catheter into the genicular arteries — the small arteries supplying the knee — and injects microscopic particles that selectively block the abnormal vessels while sparing normal circulation. Deprived of their blood supply, the inflamed tissue quiets down and the associated pain fibers regress.
The cartilage is not repaired. GAE does not reverse osteoarthritis. What it addresses is the inflammatory pain layered on top of the structural damage, which for many patients is the majority of what they actually feel day to day.
What the Evidence Shows
We want patients making this decision with accurate expectations, so here is the honest state of the research.
A two-year prospective IDE trial published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology reported durable pain and function improvement in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (JVIR, 2024). A 2025 randomized, sham-controlled trial found pain scores improving from 44.4 at baseline to 65.6 at 12 months in the GAE arm (PMC), and systematic reviews of sham-controlled trials confirm short-term pain reduction with a very low complication rate (PMC systematic review).
The caveat we give every patient: the randomized evidence base is still small — three sham-controlled trials totaling 138 patients at last systematic review — and results are strongest in mild-to-moderate osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grades 1–3). GAE is a well-tolerated option with encouraging data, not a settled standard of care, and any clinic presenting it as a miracle is overselling it.
Who Is a Candidate for GAE?
Likely a good candidate if you:
- Have knee pain from osteoarthritis lasting six months or longer
- Have mild-to-moderate arthritis on imaging (KL grade 1–3)
- Have tried and failed conservative care — physical therapy, NSAIDs, injections
- Got only brief or no relief from steroid injections
- Want to delay or avoid knee replacement
- Are not a surgical candidate due to age, weight, diabetes, or cardiac risk
- Have tenderness on pressing the joint line — a sign inflammation is contributing
Likely not a candidate if you have end-stage bone-on-bone arthritis with severe deformity, active knee infection, inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid, severe atherosclerosis in the leg arteries, or significant kidney impairment limiting contrast use.
Well&You determines this with imaging review and a vascular assessment, not a phone screen.
The Procedure, Step by Step
Before. Consultation with imaging review, weight-bearing X-rays, and sometimes MRI. Blood work including kidney function. Medication review — blood thinners may need adjustment. [VERIFY] Your Patient Navigator completes insurance verification before scheduling.
Day of. Performed at the Well&You Northside outpatient surgery center. You are awake with moderate sedation — comfortable, not under general anesthesia. Total procedure time is typically 60 to 120 minutes.
- Local anesthetic at the access site, usually the femoral artery at the groin or the radial artery at the wrist
- A micro-catheter is threaded to the genicular arteries under live X-ray
- Contrast injection maps the abnormal vessel network — often visibly striking
- Embolic particles are released into the targeted branches only
- Repeat imaging confirms the abnormal flow is gone and normal flow preserved
- Catheter removed, small pressure bandage applied — no stitches
After. Two to four hours of observation, then home the same day with a driver.
Recovery
Most patients walk the same day. Typical guidance: no driving for 24 hours, no heavy lifting or strenuous activity for about a week, and resumption of normal daily activity within two to three days.
Expect some soreness, warmth, or mild swelling in the knee for the first week — this is the expected inflammatory response as the treated vessels close, not a complication. Bruising at the access site is common.
The timeline that matters: GAE is not instant. Some patients notice improvement within one to two weeks, but the more typical pattern is gradual improvement over four to twelve weeks as the inflammation resolves. Patients expecting cortisone-shot immediacy are often discouraged at week two and delighted at week ten. We tell you this in advance so you do not misread a normal course as failure.
Risks
Reported complication rates are low. Possible issues include access-site bruising or hematoma, transient skin discoloration over the knee from small skin-branch embolization (usually self-resolving), temporary numbness, and rarely, non-target embolization. Contrast carries a small kidney risk in patients with existing impairment. Not every patient responds.
Insurance and Cost
GAE coverage is evolving. Some plans cover it when conservative treatment has failed and documentation is thorough; others still classify it as investigational. Well&You accepts all major plans including Medicare, and our Patient Navigators verify your specific benefits for free and pursue prior authorization before you commit to anything. If your plan denies, you will know the self-pay figure before scheduling — we do not start a procedure with your coverage unresolved.
Schedule a GAE Consultation
Well&You Northside — 15496 Max Leggett Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32218. Also serving Orange Park and Fleming Island. Call (904) 895-5400.
Written by the Well&You Patient Education Team. Medically Reviewed By Dr. Ragu Murthy, MD, FACC, ABVLM — Founding Cardiologist, Well&You. Reviewed September 2026.