Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation in the Knee

Osteochondral injuries of the knee can be a frequent source of debilitating pain and dysfunction. Significant chondral (>1.5-2 cm(2)) lesions of the femoral condyles can be especially difficult to manage with nonsurgical measures. Fresh osteochondral allograft (OCA) transplantation has been shown to be a reliable surgical procedure to manage a wide array of high-grade focal chondral lesions, with or without subchondral bone involvement. OCA transplantation affords the transfer of a size-matched allograft of mature hyaline cartilage with its associated subchondral bony scaffold. Indications include primary or secondary management of large, high-grade chondral or osteochondral defects secondary to trauma, developmental malformation, osteonecrosis, or other focal degenerative disease. Contraindications include end-stage osteoarthritis, uncorrected malalignment, ligament or meniscus deficiency, and inflammatory joint disease. Improvements in surgical technique, allograft storage, and tissue availability have created more reproducible clinical results and increased chondrocyte viability. Long-term (>10 year) graft survival rates have been shown to be between 70% and 91%, and the procedure has been shown to be cost-effective based on cost per quality-adjusted life year. Finally, OCA transplantation has been shown to provide excellent return to play rate for athletes with medium-to-large cartilage lesions. OCA transplantation is therefore an important option in the treatment algorithm of articular cartilage injuries.