What types of treatments can restore cartilage in the knee?
Whereas damaged knee cartilage used to mean joint replacement surgery, there are now cartilage repair techniques designed to replace damaged cartilage. Osteochondral allograft transplantation surgery (OATS) uses donated cartilage grafts to replace damaged cartilage. Careful graft sizing ensures that the new cartilage “plugs” fit snugly for better healing and recovery. Matrix Induced Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (MACI) uses a small sample of your own cartilage. The sample is attached to a special "scaffold" and allowed to grow into a full-thickness graft for several weeks. The graft is then implanted in the knee, replacing the damaged cartilage. Microfracture is another technique that is commonly used for cartilage restoration. In this procedure, small holes are made in the bone around the damaged area of cartilage. The goal is to stimulate healing and stimulate the formation of new cartilage. Stem cell treatment is emerging as a very good option in some patients....