The second type of cartilage damage that one gets is not as common. It is when a small area of cartilage gets damaged by a sudden injury. It normally happens in younger patients and sportsmen. The injury normally involves only a small portion of the cartilage, with the rest of the cartilage being completely normal. This can potentially be treated by a cartilage transplantation.

A cartilage transplant (cartilage cell or chondrocyte transplant) is a surgical procedure that is indicated to treat damaged cartilage with the use of cartilage cells from another part of your body. Healthy cartilage is taken from another part of the body and implanted into the defect to help repair part of the knee joint.

When is cartilage transplantation in the knee indicated?

Cartilage transplant isn't an ideal treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee. If the cartilage defect is too severe, it is too late, and knee replacement surgery is recommended. Cartilage transplant may be indicated if:

• You have a stable knee with intact cruciate ligaments and collateral ligaments
• You have a straight joint axis without any deformity (severe knock-knees or bow legs)
• There are no loose bodies due to cartilage defects in the knee
• If there are preserved menisci
• The cartilage is damaged only on one of the two joint surfaces

What does cartilage transplantation in the knee entail?

During the procedure, the orthopaedic surgeon will take healthy cartilage (a graft) from another part of the joint in order to repair another part of the joint. The graft will be taken from a non-weight-bearing part of the joint, which will be matched up to the damaged area of the cartilage and then placed into the new place. When the damage is too big, an allograft may be indicated. An allograft is tissue taken from a donor and allows the orthopaedic surgeon to accurately cut and place the cartilage in the damaged joint. Dr le Roux has published and presented research on the topic of a novel technique for cartilage transplantation.