Osteochondral defect

 

What causes an osteochondral defect?

Deep craters involving both the cartilage and the bone may be a result of impact or a condition such as osteochondritis dissecans where blood supply fails to an area of bone, and the bone and cartilage die.

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What happens to an OCD without surgical intervention?

The defect is likely to cause pain and altered mobility, but the real issue is that without closing the defect it is likely to extend and eventually lead to arthritis.

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Options for cartilage repair of an osteochondral defect

There are a number of possible procedures for attempting to fill the defect back to a congruent cartilage surface. The big number suggests that none are in fact perfect! Possible interventions include:

• microfracture
• ACI
• mosaicplasty
• MACI
• OATS

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Forum discussions

• Osteochondral defect

  Options for articular cartilage repair

• o.a.t.s--recovery/rehab

  Discussion about rehabilitation after OATS procedure.

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Peer-reviewed papers

• Surgical Management of Osteochondral Defects of the Knee: An Educational Review

  Citation: Howell M, Liao Q, Gee CW. Surgical Management of Osteochondral Defects of the Knee: An Educational Review. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2021 Feb;14(1):60-66. doi: 10.1007/s12178-020-09685-1. Epub 2021 Feb 15. PMID: 33587261; PMCID: PMC7930143.

  Quote: ..."the re-operation, re-intervention and adverse event rates were similar for all procedures. However, microfracture demonstrated the worst patient-reported outcomes, with particular emphasis placed on the poor long-term results of this operation".

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