Cartilage Repair Techniques

This website focuses on articular cartilage repair treatment, which means the restoration of damaged hyaline cartilage in the joints. Cartilage repair and regeneration is a treatment for joints that have damaged cartilage but are otherwise healthy.

The treatment is recommended for patients with cartilage damage or deterioration caused by:

• 1. Injury or trauma, including sports injuries
• 2. Repetitive use of the joint
• 3. Congenital abnormalities – abnormalities a person is born with – that affect a normal joint structure
• 4. Hormonal disorders that affect bone and joint development, such as osteochondritis dissecans (OCD)

There are several types of procedures for cartilage repair and regeneration that are designed to heal the cartilage by filling the cartilage defect (pothole) with repair tissue.

The choice of procedure depends on the size and location of the defect. Larger defects are typically treated with autologous chondrocyte transplantation or osteochondral allograft transplantation, both of which require open incisions. Smaller defects in specific locations can be treated with marrow-stimulating techniques, autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI), or osteochondral autograft transfer.