Long-Term Outcomes of Autologous Osteochondral Transfer of the Knee Are Successful and Predicated Upon Appropriate Patient Selection

Cartilage restoration techniques continue to grow in complexity, expanding from traditional marrow-stimulation or isolated chondroplasty of chondral lesions to various grafting procedures. Microfracture can induce a less favorable biologic response that includes formation of type I fibrocartilage and development of subchondral cystic changes or sclerosis. Thus, chondral graft options that restore native type II hyaline cartilage are favored. Autologous osteochondral transfer (AOT) is a favorable graft option because it provides native type II hyaline cartilage on an autologous subchondral scaffold that most-closely emulates the native chondral environment, and clinical studies demonstrate better functional outcomes and RTS compared to other cartilage grafting and bone-marrow stimulation procedures.
Source: Arthroscopy - Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery - Category: Surgery Authors: Tags: Editorial Commentary Source Type: research