Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33521156›Full record

ArticleOrthopaedic journal of sports medicine2021

Surgical Fixation of Chondral-Only Fragments of the Knee: A Case Series With a Mean 4-Year Follow-up.

Andrew Gudeman, Dillen Wischmeier, Jack Farr

Abstract read
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Article in Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Andrew GudemanDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Dillen WischmeierKnee Preservation and Cartilage Restoration Center, OrthoIndy, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Jack FarrKnee Preservation and Cartilage Restoration Center, OrthoIndy, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChondral-only fragments of the knee have traditionally been treated with excision, with or without cartilage restoration procedures. This is because of the historical assumption that cartilage has limited ability to heal to cancellous or subchondral bone. There is now a growing body of evidence supporting surgical fixation of these fragments. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that surgical fixation of chondral fragments would result in acceptable rates of healing with improvement in clinical outcome scores. STUDY

designCase series; Level of evidence, 4.

methodsData were collected on 15 surgically fixed chondral-only fragments in 14 patients. We retrospectively collected participant demographic information, lesion characteristics, primary mechanism (osteochondritis dissecans vs traumatic shear injury), fixation methods, reoperation information, second-look arthroscopic information, and clinical outcome scores. The mean clinical follow-up was 3.96 years, with a minimum of 1-year follow-up. All patients underwent follow-up magnetic resonance imaging at a mean of 2 years after the index procedure.

resultsThe mean age of our cohort was 17.7 years. We found an 80% survival rate for fixation of the fragments at a mean 4-year follow-up. There were statistically significant improvements in postoperative Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score and Tegner scores compared with preoperative scores. Follow-up magnetic resonance imaging scans showed complete healing in 10 knees, partial healing in 2 knees, and loss of fixation in 3 knees. Second-look arthroscopic surgery of 3 knees for reasons other than fragment symptoms showed healing of the fragment, while arthroscopic surgery of 3 symptomatic knees showed loss of fixation.

conclusionSurgical fixation of chondral-only lesions showed an 80% success rate with improvements in the KOOS and Tegner scores.

Indexed as

cartilage lesioncartilage-only fragmentchondral defectchondral-only fixationfixationknee

Identifiers

PMID33521156
PMCPMC7818004

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