[Operative treatment of cartilage lesions in the knee joint]

With regard to the current demographic changes in today's population and the increasing demands of the patients i. e. in sports activity, the operative treatment of chondral lesions gained of importance in recent years. The treatment of cartilage injuries is not only of great importance in order to reduce the patients' symptoms, but also intends to avoid the appearance of secondary arthrosis. There are several different techniques available for the treatment of full-thickness defects (such as microfracture and autologous chondrocyte implantation), some of them following related principles. The choice of the optimal treatment technique remains of great importance and represents one of the major responsibilities of the surgeon in order to achieve optimal results. The current article represents a review of current techniques and developments in operative cartilage repair of the knee joint and gives help in the decision-making process, since the use of the appropriate technique becomes more and more important in order to achieve optimal clinical results.