[Experimental and clinical research on repair of growth plate injury]

To sum up the experimental and clinical history as well as latest development of repair of growth plate injury.

Recent articles ab safe and effective methoout repair of growth plate injury were extensively reviewed and major reparative methods were introduced, especially including tissue engineering research on growth plate.

Repair of growth plate injury was a great difficulty in experimental study and clinical treatment of pediatric orthopediis. Transplantation of free growth plate and cartilage were unfavorably used because of lack of blood supplement. Although circulation problem was solved by transplantation of vascularized growth plate, autografts of epiphyseal cartilage were involved in limitation of donor, and allografts of epiphyseal cartilage induced immunological reaction. Noncartilaginous tissue and material could only prevent formation of bony bridge in small defect of growth plate and lacked ability of regenerative repair. Transplantation of tissue engineered cartilage and chondrocytes might be a choice for repair of growth plate injury.

Owing to lack of safe and effective methods of repairing growth plate injury, research on chondrocyte and tissue engineered cartilage should be further done.