Knee cartilage transplantation is a modern type of treatment in which cartilage cells are removed from the patient’s knee, propagated in a lab and then transplanted back into the knee by way of minimally invasive surgery.
Autologous chondrocyte transplantation is an innovative form of treatment that is only put into practice by a few renowned orthopaedic specialists in Germany. Professor Lill is one of these experts. Learn more here about knee cartilage transplantation and how it can help those with damaged cartilage become completely healthy again.
Cartilage transplantation: Information
The first step in autologous chondrocyte transplantation is to take cartilage cells from a healthy part of the knee joint. This is generally done via minimally invasive techniques and rarely causes discomfort. Next, the removed cartilage cells are cultured in a lab and propagated. Arthroscopic (keyhole) surgery is then performed to reintroduce the newly propagated cells into the affected areas of cartilage in the knee joint. Here the cells will immediately begin to grow and multiply, thus returning full functionality to the joint. Since the donor and patient are one and the same, the chance of the body rejecting the cells is virtually zero. The healing process should be complete no more than one year after transplantation.
Whether or not cartilage transplantation is recommended for a patient depends on many factors that should be clarified in advance. Preop evaluations are free with EMT. Just contact us.