Cartilage Repair Surgery of the Knee

Injury to knee cartilage is very common, and often occurs in combination with other injuries of the knee, such as ACL tear. Most often the injury is found when assessing another problem, however a primary isolated injury is not uncommon. In many instances the problem is mostly due to day, however is some cases locking or blocking of the knee can occur.

After obtaining a good history or the problem, and testing the knee, both standing xrays of the knee and a MRI is obtained to clearly define the problem. If the damage to the cartilage is small, then an arthroscopic or key-hole procedure can be completed to treat the problem. In many instances, drilling of the area with specialized instruments is adequate to promote a healing response. After surgery many different adjuvant therapies such as hyaluronic acid, and stem cells can be used to obtain a better repair.

Set up for knee arthroscopy.
knee arthroscopy

Cartilage injury found at surgery
Cartilage injury

After drilling
After drilling

Following surgery, intensive rehabilitation program is required, with daily CPM (continuous passive motion), as well as adjuvant treatment with hyaluronic acid injections, and or stem cells.
intensive rehabilitation program