The American journal of sports medicine
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Structural and functional outcome of bone graft with first- or second-generation autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) in treating cartilage and subchondral bone defect has not been reported previously. ⋯ The OsPlug technique shows significant improvement of functional outcome for up to 5 years in patients with high-grade osteochondritis dissecans or osteochondral defect. This is the first report describing association of bone graft integration with functional outcome after such a procedure. It also demonstrates histologic evidence of integration of the repair cartilage with the underlying bone graft.
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Osteochondral allograft (OCA) transplantation provides a biological treatment option for functional restoration of large articular cartilage defects in multiple joints. While successful outcomes after OCA transplantation have been linked to viable donor chondrocytes, the importance of donor cell viability has not been comprehensively validated. ⋯ Optimizing chondrocyte viability in all aspects of OCA transplantation-including procurement, processing, storage, transportation, and surgical implantation-needs to be a primary focus for OCA clinical use.