Patent ID: 7901457

Claim:
A method of placing a preshaped allograft plug assembly in a cartilage defect, said assembly comprising a subchondral bone and an overlying cartilage cap which as been treated to remove cellular debris and proteoglycans and milled cartilage in a carrier comprising the steps of: (a) cutting a first cylindrical bore in a patient at a site of a cartilage defect area to remove the cartilage defect; (b) cutting a second cylindrical bore to having a diameter greater than the first cylindrical bore a depth which is substantially the same as the depth of a cartilage layer in the defect area to form a stepped bore; (c) placing a mixture of milled cartilage in a bioabsorbable carrier in the formed hole; and (d) placing a preshaped allograft osteochondral plug having a cross section which engages the walls defining said hole allowing the structure to be placed in an interference fit within said stepped bore with the surface of the cartilage cap being substantially flush with surrounding cartilage.