Cartilage repair using microfracture technique

Microfracturing is an arthroscopic technique to treat full thickness chondral defects. The technique is simple, inexpensive and includes debridement of the defect, assurance of good containment at the shoulder of the defect, removal of the sclerotic bone und perforation of the subchondral bone with picks. Subsequently, mesenchymal stem cells from the bone marrow fill out the defect and can differentiate to fibrous cartilage in response to a careful rehabilitation program. Histologically, the amount of type II collagen is limited and thus the regenerative cartilage may deteriorate over time. Clinical studies show significant pain reduction and improvement in Lysholm-Score values within 1 to 4 years post-operatively that are comparable to other techniques. Long term studies are still lacking to evaluate the long term success of this technique.