Treatment of focal chondral lesions in the knee using a synthetic scaffold plug: Long-term clinical and radiological results

The management of symptomatic articular cartilage lesions, especially in the young, fit individual remains an area of considerable controversy. Articular cartilage repair or reconstruction techniques may offer these patients alternatives to arthroplasty. The TruFit (TM) plug is a synthetic biphasic polymer scaffold that is designed for implantation at the site of a focal chondral defect. The aim of this study is to report the long-term clinical and radiological outcomes of patients treated with the TruFit (TM) plug for chondral defects within the knee. 11 patients underwent TruFit (TM) plug implantation. Long-term outcome scores were available for 6 patients at a mean follow up of 121 months (SD 12.0 months, 1 patient unavailable and 4 excluded after arthroplasty surgery). There was no statistically significant improvements in any score although all scores did improve. At a mean radiographic follow up of 70 months (17-113) of 9 patients, the mean MOCART score was 22.2 (SD 15.6). All patients had incomplete or no evidence of plug incorporation and persistent chondral loss. Based on these results, we do not recommend the use of the TruFit (TM) plug.