Abstract
Purpose of the study: Solid chondrograft in the treatment of the osteochondral defects seems like rutine method in present time. In our prospective study we focused to the evaluation of the chondrograft quality and its incorporation to the implanting place.
Material and Methods. We have been using the technique of the solid autologous chondrograft implantation since 2000. We have been evaluating the patients regulary by magnetic resonance (3,12 and 24 month postoperatively), by second look arthroscopy and clinically with evaluation of the Lysholm and Weber scores. Also we are using the evaluation of the chondrograft quality by electronmicroscopy and by imunohistochemic methods on the samples taken by second look arthroscopy from the border of implanting places.
Our set contains of 51 patients (28 men and 23 women) with the chondrograft implantation (39 knees and 12 ankles). An average age of patients was 27 years and 3 month with average follow up 3 years and 7 month.
Results: The full incorporation of the chondrograft have been observing in 49 patients (94%) using the second look arthroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging. There were no marks of subchondral edema. We took the samples from implanting places in 11 patients. There were hyalin chondral tissue evaluated by electronmicroscopy imaging in 10 samples and mixed hyalin-fibrous tissue in one sample. There were colagen No.2 in all samples examined by imunohistochemy with coloring by hematoxilineosin.
Lysholm score in knee operations were before surgery 37,5, one year after the surgery 81,4 and after two years 83,1. Weber score in ankle operations were before surgery 17,3, one year postoperatively 4,6 and after two years 4,5.
Conclusion: The examination of our set of patients argumentative very good clinical, imaging, as well as histological results of implanted chondrografts incorporation.
Correspondence should be addressed to Ms Larissa Welti, Scientific Secretary, EFORT Central Office, Technoparkstrasse 1, CH-8005 Zürich, Switzerland
