Cell therapy for secondary osteonecrosis of the femoral condyles using the Cellect DBM System: a preliminary report

We describe a novel treatment of secondary osteonecrosis (ON) of the femoral condyles that is relatively simple, has low morbidity, and does not preclude the patient from other more extensive treatments in the event of failure. Three patients with extensive secondary ON of the femoral condyles were treated with decompression and debridement of the area of ON and grafting with the Cellect DBM System (Depuy Spine, Inc., Raynham, Mass), which provided a graft matrix enriched with a 3-fold to 4-fold increase in osteoprogenitor cells. At 2 years, all 3 patients had no complications and had excellent results with near-normal function and activity levels. Our preliminary results demonstrate that this technique is a viable option, at least in the short term, especially in patients with extensive, multifocal lesions.