Abstract
(1) Background: Focal chondral defects of the knee can significantly impair patient quality of life. Although different options are available, they are still not conclusive and have several limitations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of autologous cartilage micrografts in the treatment of knee chondropathy. (2) Methods: Eight patients affected by knee chondropathy were evaluated before and after 6 months and 3 years following autologous cartilage micrografts by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for cartilage measurement and clinical assessment. (3) Results: All patients recovered daily activities, reporting pain reduction without the need for analgesic therapy; Oxford Knee Score (OKS) was 28.4 ± 6 and 40.8 ± 6.2 and visual analogue scale (VAS) was 5.5 ± 1.6 and 1.8 ± 0.7 before and after 6 months following treatment, respectively. Both scores remained stable after 3 years. Lastly, a significant improvement of the cartilage thickness was observed using MRI after 3 years. (4) Conclusions: Autologous cartilage micrografts can promote the formation of new cartilage, and could be a valid approach for the treatment of knee chondropathy.
Highlights
Articular cartilage defects remain a challenging clinical issue for orthopedic surgeons and, if left untreated, can progress to degenerative osteoarthritis, knee pain, and loss of function [1]
The limited self-healing ability of articular cartilage is due to its avascular nature and slow extracellular matrix turnover, along with limited capacity of resident chondrocytes to migrate to damaged areas [2]
Different generations of ACI and matrixinduced autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI) techniques have been studied both in long-term follow-ups and in several randomized trials, and these techniques lead to satisfactory results [6]
Summary
Articular cartilage defects remain a challenging clinical issue for orthopedic surgeons and, if left untreated, can progress to degenerative osteoarthritis, knee pain, and loss of function [1]. There have been several approaches that aim the repair cartilage defects, even if the natural course of such lesions is still not well known. Osteochondral autologous transplantation (OAT) is used for small and medium focal articular cartilage defects [4], while autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) can be considered for the treatment of early osteoarthritis affecting younger patients [5]. Pharmacological treatments for knee or hip osteoarthritis include non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as intraarticular injections of corticosteroids, focusing on pain and inflammation reduction without addressing the underlying causes [9,10]
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