What Is Articular Cartilage?
Articular cartilage defects occur when cartilage of the knee becomes damaged and can eventually lead to osteoarthritis.
What Is Articular Cartilage Treatment?
The articular cartilage is an essential component of the knee joint that provides stability and flexibility to the knee. This smooth and white cartilage covers the ends of each bone and facilitates a pain-free motion. However, the cartilage can sustain damage due to a traumatic injury or wear down gradually due to the natural aging process. The symptoms of damaged articular cartilage include pain, swelling, and limited range of motion. Over time, if the cartilage continues to wear down, it may expose the bone, leading to a painful condition called osteoarthritis.
What Are The Treatment Options For Articular Cartilage Damage?
There are various surgical techniques available to treat articular cartilage damage, including chondroplasty, microfracture, autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI), and osteochondral autograft transfer (OATs) or osteonchondral allograft transplantation. Chondroplasty is a minimally invasive arthroscopic procedure designed to remove damaged cartilage, while microfracture involves creating small holes in the bony surface of the defect to stimulate the formation of new fibrocartilage. ACI is a two-stage procedure that involves harvesting healthy cartilage cells from the knee, expanding them in a lab, and replanting them during a second surgery. OATs procedures involve transplanting small plugs of cartilage and bone from a healthy portion of the patient’s knee (in an autograft transfer) or from a donor tissue bank (in an allograft transplantation) to the damaged area.