Knee Cartilage Repair

An even and sliding articular cartilage is the key to the normal functioning of the knee joints. The cartilage is the component that helps to dispense force at the time of repetitive pounding movements eg jump or run on hard surfaces. In spite of its power, the cartilage is prone to injuries resulting in acute pain in the knee. Injuries can be in the form of lesions, holes, or pits on the facets of the cartilage.

Dr. Vinay Tantuway is an expert in treating cartilage injuries. The most advanced knee cartilage repair surgical techniques are used by him for providing his patients with the best possible results.

Knee Cartilage Injury Symptoms

An acute cartilage injury of the knee can impact the life of an active person to great extent.
The symptoms of an injury involve locking or catching the knee, localized pain, and inflammation. This affects an individual’s capability to work, play, and perform day-to-day activities. If not attended, it can curb the free movement and can result in deteriorating joint facets.

Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI)

However, it’s impossible for the injured cartilage to get repaired or restored, the most modern, state-of-the-art techniques help in cartilage cells harvesting. This way the cells are also cultured and multiplied. The restoration of the articular cartilage helps in lessening the pain and also makes way for preferable work conditions too. Best of all it can stop or hinder the oncoming of arthritis.

Autologous chondrocyte implantation or ACI is the way of repairing the cartilage biologically. The procedure involves a dual step– in the first step new cartilage cells are grown and the second step involves implanting the cartilage in the defective area.

The process is helpful in restoring the surface of the articular and reviving hyaline cartilage without hampering the solidity of the healthy tissue or the subchondral bone. After the completion of ACI and rehabilitation, it is quite normal to start your day-to-day activities.

The younger patients are more suitable for ACI with a single injury of up to 2 cm in diameter and there is no issue of tissue rejection as the cells being used are of the patient only.

OATS Repair

In the process of osteochondral autograft resurfacing (OATS) the specialist transplants the healthy hyaline cartilage of the same person being treated. The cartilage is transplanted from one area to another. The therapy is done mainly on severe and traumatic wounds via tiny instruments inserted from small cuts on the side of the knee. Spile of cells is moved from the healthy area to the wounded part of the knee. The inside of the knee area is supervised and instruments are accordingly guided using the arthroscope, a small camera. The process is more suitable for minor wounds of less than 15-20 mm in size. The reason is the limited area of the harvesting site.

Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation

In the case of wounds of a big proportion, the allograft is a better option than autograft. In the process of allograft, a chunk of bone and cartilage can be molded to fit the proper lineage of the wound.

An open cut is done usually to perform the allograft creating grafts of 10 to 35 mm. At the start, the wound is revealed and sorted. Then a guide pin is inserted in the middle of the bruise upright to the surface of the joint. The wounded cartilage and tiny amount of bone are removed and in-depth estimation is done from the arranged recipient site.

After the process is over the surplus bone is extracted which in the process makes an osteochondral graft akin to the size and depth of the recipient site. All the waste and blood are cleaned up and borders are cropped to make way for insertion. The graft is then placed and is fixed using absorbable pins or screws.

DeNovo Graft

This procedure uses tissue grafts in the therapy of cartilage repair utilizing the donor’s cartilage tissue. Sometimes, though, the human donated cartilage cells are used to grow cartilage tissue in the laboratory. DeNovo is used mostly for patella, femoral trochlear, or medial femoral condyle related contained or isolated defects.

In the procedure of DeNovo ET, juvenile cartilage cells are used as they have more capacity for regeneration as compared to adult cartilage cells. A single-step surgical procedure is needed to place the graft over the wounded area.

In the DeNovo NT, process the natural articular cartilage living cells are used harvesting from juvenile donors. In the procedure, a single-step process is adopted to fix the graft with fibrin glue.

For any query relating to your cartilage damage, please feel free to consult Dr. Vinay Tantuway, an exceptionally skilled and trained professional making use of technically advanced state-of-the-art surgical procedures.

Feel free to fix your consultation by calling 91 9826030089