Knee Joint Cartilage Defects: Large Cartilage Defect Treatment Animation

Knee Joint Cartilage Defects: Large Cartilage Defect Treatment Animation

This animation demonstrates a cartilage graft transplantation procedure used to treat a large cartilage defect in the knee. In this technique, a single, large cartilage and bone graft is taken from a cadaver donor and placed into the area of cartilage damage, allowing for broader and more complete coverage compared to procedures that rely on multiple small grafts.

Here, we see a right knee with the inner side of the knee shown on the right side of the screen. The knee is bent to expose the end of the femur, or thigh bone, where a large cartilage defect is visible along the inner portion of the femur.

A sizing instrument is first used to measure and outline the cartilage defect. The same instrument is then applied to a donor femur covered in articular cartilage to mark the exact size of the graft required to fill the defect.

The donor femur is secured in a workstation, and a cutting device of the same size is positioned over the marked area. A guide pin is inserted to stabilize the device, which is then impacted to cut through the cartilage and bone. A cutting guide and saw are subsequently used to remove the graft, which is checked to ensure it matches the required size.

Attention is then turned back to the patient’s knee. A positioning instrument is placed over the cartilage defect, and guide pins are inserted into the femur. A scoring instrument and reamer are used to remove the damaged cartilage and underlying bone, creating a precisely shaped socket.

Surgical instruments are used to remove any remaining cartilage and bone between the prepared areas, and a dilator is tapped into place to finalize the socket shape. Small holes are drilled into the exposed bone to stimulate bone marrow and promote healing, and bone gel is applied to further support this process.

The graft is positioned over the prepared socket and gently tapped into place until it sits flush with the surrounding cartilage. Once the graft is secure and properly aligned, the procedure is complete.