ArticleKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2026
Treatment of large chondral lesions with an autologous minced cartilage technique and synovial flap leads to superior results compared to matrix associated autologous chondrocyte transplantation technique after 24 months: A controlled clinical trial.
Article in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07641868 (Management of Focal Cartilage Lesions of the Knee), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Management of Focal Cartilage Lesions of the Knee: The Benefits of an Autograft Procedure
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Arthroscopically and manually minced cartilage demonstrates lower cell viability and lower proteoglycan deposition compared to isolated chondrons and chondrocytes.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2026Article
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6 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTreating large cartilage lesions in the knee remains a challenge. While matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI) is the gold standard for medium to large lesions, the minced cartilage technique has shown promise in smaller defects. Enhancing this technique with biomaterials has been suggested for larger lesions, but its effectiveness remains unclear due to limited data. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of the minced cartilage technique with autologous synovial flap coverage in large knee cartilage lesions and compare the results with MACI.
methodsTwenty patients with large Grade III-IV cartilage defects (>6 cm²) at the knee were included. Ten patients underwent the autologous minced cartilage procedure (AutoCart™) with synovial flap (Group A), and ten received the MACI procedure (Group B). Clinical outcomes were assessed using the Tegner score, visual analog scale (VAS), the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) forms, and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). MRI evaluations were performed using the MOCART 2.0 score before surgery and 24 months postoperatively.
resultsClinical scores significantly improved in Group A after surgery, while Group B showed improvement only in the VAS, pain, and sports/recreation levels. Postoperative MRI revealed similar results between groups, with Group A showing significantly better cartilage defect volume fill and fewer subchondral changes compared to Group B (p < 0.05). The mean MOCART 2.0 score at the final follow-up was 76.0 ± 15.4 for Group A and 65.6 ± 17.6 for Group B, though without statistical significance.
conclusionThe study suggests that the all-autologous minced cartilage technique with synovial flap is an effective treatment for large chondral lesions, yielding outcomes similar to or better compared to the MACI technique. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.
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