Cartilage repair with autogenic perichondrium cell/polylactic acid grafts: a two-year study in rabbits

The repair of articular cartilage injuries remains a challenge. In this 2-year study, osteochondral defects in the femoral condyles of five rabbits were repaired with an autogenic perichondrium cell/polylactic acid graft and compared with a contralateral control in which the defect remained empty. The rabbits in the group with the grafts had a higher percentage of biologically acceptable repairs (100%) than did those in the control group (80%). According to the histologic and histomorphometric analyses, the grafts augmented the intrinsic healing. Nonetheless, the results for the grafts were tarnished by a depressed repair surface and a histologic appearance not equivalent to that of normal cartilage. The application of growth factors to this model may yield a clinical treatment.