Patent ID: 8444968

Claim:
A method for repairing a full-thickness chondral defect of a joint of a patient in need of treatment, the method comprising: a) microfracturing bone underlying the joint; b) applying to the joint a membrane, wherein the membrane comprises a polyester polymer entangled with a hyaluronate polymer, at a weight ratio of polyester polymer to hyaluronate polymer of between 9:1 and 1:9, wherein the entanglement of the polymers is produced by forming an emulsified mixture of the polyester polymer in a first solvent and the hyaluronate polymer in a second solvent, adding the emulsified mixture to a mold, freezing the emulsified mixture in the mold, removing solvent from the resultant frozen mixture by vacuum, wherein the membrane has a thickness of at least 0.5 mm up to 3 mm; and c) anchoring the membrane to the joint.