Osteochondral Autograft

Jack Farr, MD

This technique is analogous to a hair-plug transfer. The surgeon removes a small plug of the patient's own cartilage along with an attached underlying bone plug. This is obtained from an area of the knee, which does not participate in high loading. The typical site of harvest is at the margin of the knee. If the area of harvest is involved with damage, then this technique may not be possible or an alternative site in the notch may be utilized. This bone and cartilage (hence the term: osteo (bone)--chondral (cartilage)) local graft is then transferred to the defect where a receiving hole (socket) has been prepared. Obviously, there is a limit to the amount of tissue available for "harvesting" and thus the size of the lesions treated with this technique are usually between 1-2 cm in diameter.

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