Subchondral Arthroplasty (Subscribe)  

Young patients with early osteoarthritis wishing to remain functionally active have limited treatment options. Existing studies examining the use of autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) have included patients with early degenerative changes; however, none specifically investigated the outcome of ACI with this challenging problem.
At 5 years postoperatively, 92% of patients were...

Surgical technique for management of osteochondral injury
- these injuries are distinct from degenerative arthritic lesions and management of these lesions should remain distinct as well;
- theory is that penetration of subchondral bone causes bleeding from underlying vessels which allows clot formation in the cartilaginous defect and subsequent formation of fibrocartilage;
-...

To achieve satisfactory results with microfracture, one expert suggests the following: Adhere to the selection criteria, follow the appropriate procedure and always prescribe standard rehabilitation for 8 weeks postoperatively.

- microfracture is a knee surgery that involves the creation of multiple perforations (microfractures in the subchondral bone) in areas that are cartilage deficient.
- theory behind this type of technique is that simple abrasion arthroplasty may not allow a sustained reparative response (no more than 2 weeks of healing) where...

The use of autologous osteochondral grafts (mosaicplasty) to repair articular cartilage defects is a well-established technique. Between 1998 and 2003, 19 patients with grade IV cartilage defects in the knee joint were treated by mosaicplasty. The average age of these 13 men (68%) and six women (32%) was 33.1 years...

Technological advances and a paradigm shift towards the importance of patient expectations have caused some surgeons to take a second look at conventional cartilage repair techniques.
Surgeons developed abrasion arthroplasty more than 25 years ago, but only now are they realizing the technique’s full potential. “Maybe [surgeons in the past] didn’t...

The successful treatment of focal full-thickness articular defects of the knee has continued to present a formidable challenge, and no traditional treatment method has provided consistent acceptable, long-term clinical results. Patients with significant chondral defects frequently have persistent joint line pain, swelling, and catching in the knee. In contrast to...