Abstract
Although cartilage repair has been around since the time of open Pridie drilling, clinical outcomes for newer techniques such as arthroscopic debridement, microfracture (MFX), osteochondral autograft transfers (OATS), osteochondral allograft transplantation and Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI) are still finding their place in treating injured knees.
Early mechanical symptoms are best managed by a gentle arthroscopic debridement of loose articular flaps. This allows the surgeon to assess the defect size, location in the tibio-femoral or patellofemoral joint, status of the cartilage overall and patients response to the intervention. If the symptom improvement is not satisfactory to the patient, after assessing background factors that will influence the results of a cartilage repair procedure, (alignment of the patellofemoral joint or axial alignment, ligament stability and status of the meniscus), the surgeon can choose the best procedure for that individual based on the expected outcomes of the various cartilage repair techniques while addressing the background factors. As all the techniques have failures and informed discussion with the patient prior to performing the procedure is critical in avoiding disappointment for the patient and the surgeon.
The repair technique used should incorporate considerations of the defect size, location, and the patient age, activity level, expectations and ability to comply with the longer rehabilitation needed for biological procedures as compared to prosthetic implants.
