Surgical treatment options for cartilage defects within the knee

Injury to articular cartilage is increasingly diagnosed as a cause of knee pain. New surgical treatment options are now available to treat this clinical entity. Diagnosis is made easier by improved magnetic resonance imaging protocols that better visualize articular cartilage. On physical examination, patients at any age can have joint surface damage and primarily experience joint line tenderness and pain with activity. Treatment options include debridement of nonviable cartilage with abrasion or microfracture of the subchondral bone, transplantation of autologous osteochondral plugs, autologous chondrocyte transplantation, transplantation of cadaveric allogenic osteochondral grafts, and, for irreparable damage, total knee arthroplasty. These newer treatment options show promising early and intermediate results.