ABSTRACT
Objective: To explore the effectiveness of arthroscopic microfracture combined with osteochondral autologous transplantation (OAT) in treatment of large area (4-6 cm 2) cartilage injury of the femoral condyle of knee. Methods: Between March 2016 and June 2017, 22 patients of large area cartilage injury of the femoral condyle of knee were treated with arthroscopic microfracture combined with OAT. There were 16 males and 6 females with an average age of 22-60 years (mean, 38.6 years). The cause of injury was traffic accident in 8 cases and sports injuries in 14 cases. The disease duration was 1-6 months (mean, 3.4 months). There were 15 cases of medial femoral condyle injuries and 7 cases of lateral condyle injuries. The area of cartilage defect was 4-6 cm 2 (mean, 4.98 cm 2). According to the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) classification, 9 cases were rated as grade Ⅲ and 13 cases as grade Ⅳ. Eighteen cases were combined with meniscus injuries. Preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score was 6.36±1.25 and Lysholm score was 36.00±7.77. Results: All incisions healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 2-3 years with an average of 2.3 years. At 2 years after operation, the VAS score was 1.27±0.94 and the Lysholm score was 77.82±6.21, which were significantly improved when compared with those before operation ( t=16.595, P=0.000; t=21.895, P=0.000). At 2 years after operation, MRI showed that the cartilage defect was repaired well. Conclusion: Arthroscopic microfracture combined with OAT can be used to treat large area cartilage injury of the femoral condyle of knee, and the good early effectiveness can be obtained.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To compare the effectiveness of arthroscopic osteochondral autologous transplantation (OAT) in the treatment of young and middle-aged patients with the articular cartilage injury. Methods: A clinical data of 43 patients (43 knees) with articular cartilage injury, who underwent OAT between January 2008 and August 2016, was retrospectively analyzed. There were 23 patients aged 20-40 years (young group) and 20 patients aged 40-60 years (middle-aged group). The difference in age between the two groups was significant ( t=14.120, P=0.001). There was no significant difference in gender, body mass index, complications, affected side, lesion site, lesion area, and the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) grade of cartilage injury between the two groups ( P>0.05). The function of knee joint was evaluated by Lysholm score and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score during the follow-up. MRI examination was performed to observe the repair of both receiving and the donor sites. Results: All the incisions in the two groups were healed by first intention. All patients in the two groups were followed up with an average of 3.6 years (range, 2-8 years). At 2 years after operation, the Lysholm and IKDC scores were significantly improved in the two groups when compared with the preoperative scores ( P0.05). The MRI examination at 2 years after operation showed that both receiving and the donor sites healed well in the two groups. Conclusion: According to the texture, thickness, elasticity, and lesion area of the cartilage, arthroscopic OAT might be the first choice for the articular cartilage injury in middle-aged patients and can obtain the satisfactory short-term effectiveness.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: We wanted to compare the clinical outcomes after osteochondral autologous transplantation (OAT) and arthroscopic microfracture for treating of osteochondral lesions of the knee. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 12 cases (12 patients) of arthroscopic microfracture and 10 cases (9 patients) of OAT. The mean patient ages were 33.5 years in the microfracture group and 31.3 years in the OAT group. The mean follow-up period was 31.1 months. The mean lesion sizes were 12.9x17.4 mm in the microfracture group and 16.1x21.4 mm in the OAT group. We compared clinical results using the Tegner activity score, the Lysholm knee scoring scale, the IKDC and the VAS. MRI was used to determine the recovery of the osteochondral lesions at last follow-up. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between the groups for the Tegner Activity Score. Regarding the Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale, the OAT group had a better overall score than did the microfracture group (p<0.05). Both groups had similar results for the IKDC and VAS. The MRI at the last follow-up showed cartilage recovery in 53% of the microfracture cases (compared to the surrounding cartilage) and in 96.1% of the OAT cases. CONCLUSION: Microfracture and OAT both offered good clinical results when used to treat active persons in the 3rd or 4th decades of life and who have osteochondral lesions of the knee. However, OAT led to better cartilage recovery on MRI, as well as to better functional results. Therefore, OAT is the recommended method of treatment.