OSTEOCHONDRAL AUTOGRAFT TRANSPLANTATION FOR THE TREATMENT OF OSTEOCHONDRAL DEFECTS IN ATHLETES

Objective To evaluate clinical outcomes of the osteochondral autologous transplantation technique for treatment of osteochondral defects of the knee in athletes Methods For an average follow up period of 52 months (30 to 82 months) 19 patients were evaluated pre and post operatively by using subjective IKDC scores modified Cincinnati Scores and rate of return to sports activities Prognosis according to age duration of symptoms and location of the lesion was also evaluated Results Subjective IKDC scores were 64 6 + 6 8 pre operatively and 81 8 + 20 1 post operatively Modified Cincinnati score was 5 3 + 0 8 pre operatively and 7 5 + 1 7 post operatively Fifty three percent of the patients returned to pre operative level of sports activity 29% returned to a lower level and 17% did not return to sports Better results were observed in patients younger than 35 years with less than one year of symptoms in patients with femoral condyle defects and without concomitant meniscus or ACL tear Throclear lesions had inferior results to condylar defects Conclusion Osteochondral autologous transplantation promoted a subjective improvement of the knee in athletes Return to sports activity occurred in a specific group of patients