[Cartilage replacement operation using pre-cultured cells]

Clinical results using transplantation of precultivated autologous chondrocytes for treatment of circumscribed chondral injuries in the knee joint have been presented 1994. The quality of this method for clinical use can not be evaluated at the moment since controlled randomized trials comparing this method with bone drilling, use of periostal flaps or conservative treatment do not exist. According to recent experimental results, techniques using precultivated cells, growth factors and different scaffolds for repair of limited cartilage defects are not satisfactory yet, and it is unproven whether these methods are superior to simple bone-drilling. Use of precultivated cells and growth factors might nevertheless have a potential in the future, when we have learned to use them under optimized conditions. Unless these conditions have been developed and proven to reliably improve cartilage repair above previous methods, in a clinical case the treatment should be chosen which is the least invasive.