Autologous chondrocyte implantation is a technique to restore cartilage from your own knee in the area of the cartilage injury. The technique first involves performing an arthroscopy and taking a small piece of cartilage from your knee (biopsy), which is then sent to a lab in Boston. The lab then grows more cartilage cells from the cells given in the biopsy. A second surgery is then performed (about 4 to 12 weeks later) to implant the cartilage cells. This involves an open incision on the front of the knee. A small piece of the outer layer of the bone, called the periosteum, is taken from the lower leg and is sewn in place in the area of the cartilage defect. The cartilage cells are then injected in the area of the defect, and the periosteum is sealed. In many cases, this cartilage then grows into nearly normal articular cartilage.

• Patient Guide to Articular Cartilage Injury (1.1Mb)

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