BACKGROUND: Osteochondritis dissecans of the knee is a challenging clinical problem. We previously reported on the early successful results of autologous chondrocyte transplantation for the treatment of focal cartilage defects. The purpose of the present study was to assess the intermediate to long-term results of this technique in a large group of @entity1 with @entity1843 . METHODS: Fifty-eight @entity1 with radiographically documented @entity1843 of the knee underwent treatment with autologous chondrocyte transplantation between 1987 and 2000 and were assessed clinically with use of standard rating scales. Twenty-two @entity1 consented to arthroscopic second-look evaluation of graft integrity. RESULTS: The mean age of the @entity1 at the time of autologous chondrocyte transplantation was 26.4 years (range, fourteen to fifty-two years). Seven @entity1 were less than eighteen years old. Thirty-five @entity1 (60%) had juvenile-onset disease, and forty-eight @entity1 (83%) had had a mean of 2.1 prior operations. The defect was located on the medial femoral condyle in thirty-nine @entity1 and on the lateral femoral condyle in nineteen. The mean lesion size was 5.7 cm (2) (range, 1.5 to 12.0 cm (2) ), and the mean defect depth was 7.8 mm (range, 4 to 15 mm). After a mean duration of follow-up of 5.6 years, 91% of the @entity1 had a good or excellent overall rating on the basis of a clinician evaluation and 93% had improvement on a @entity1 self-assessment questionnaire. The Tegner-Wallgren, Lysholm, and Brittberg-Peterson VAS scores were all improved. The macroscopic quality of graft integrity averaged 11.2 on a 12-point scale, with only one graft having a score of <9 points. Two @entity1 had a failure of treatment in the early postoperative period. Only one @entity1 who had had a good or excellent rating at two years had a decline in clinical status at the time of the latest follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of @entity1843 lesions of the knee with autologous chondrocyte transplantation produces an integrated repair tissue with a successful clinical result in >90% of @entity1 . We recommend the wider use of autologous chondrocyte transplantation for this condition.

Treatment of XXXX of the knee with autologous chondrocyte transplantation: results at two to ten years.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity1843 :: ('MESH:D010008', 'Disease') :: ['osteochondritis dissecans']
@entity1843 :: (MESH:D010008,Disease) :: ['osteochondritis dissecans']
