A knee joint cartilage defect is an area of damaged cartilage on any of the surfaces of the knee joint, which include the thigh bone (femur), shinbone (tibia), and kneecap (patella). These cartilage defects are also called osteochondral defects.
Knee Joint Cartilage Defects
Knee joint cartilage defects are isolated areas of cartilage damage that often cause pain, instability, and limited range of motion. These injuries can result from trauma, repeated overuse, or other knee conditions that affect the normal movement and stability of the knee.
At-home treatment methods can help manage pain from knee joint cartilage defects, but because cartilage has a limited ability to heal, surgery may be needed to prevent knee joint cartilage defects from getting worse.
Surgery for a knee joint cartilage defect involves using a cartilage graft to replace the area of damaged cartilage. Cartilage grafts, which can be taken from the patient or from a donor, can be made from many small pieces of cartilage or one whole piece of cartilage and bone.
During knee joint cartilage defect surgery, incisions are made along the front of the knee. This allows a surgeon to access the cartilage defect to clean it up and insert a cartilage graft.
