What is a chondral defect in the knee?
A chondral defect refers to a specific, localized area of damage to the articular cartilage that lines the ends of the bones (like a tile missing in the floor). Articular cartilage is the coating of the bones and allows for smooth motion between the ends of the bones.
Is a chondral defect arthritis?
Background: Focal chondral defects (FCDs) of the knee are believed to contribute to the development of osteoarthritis (OA), resulting in pain and dysfunction.
How is osteochondral defect of the knee treated?
Surgical treatment methods can be broadly divided into arthroscopic lavage and debridement, cell-based therapy (subchondral bone stimulation for chondral tissue differentiation or culture and implantation of chondrocytes), and tissue-based therapy (osteochondral autograft transplantation or osteochondral allograft …
What does chondral mean in medical terms?
Cartilage, or chondral, damage is known as a lesion and can range from a soft spot on the cartilage (Grade I lesion) or a small tear in the top layer to an extensive tear that extends all the way to the bone (Grade IV or “full-thickness” lesion).
What does chondral fissuring mean?
Chondral fissures are a type of chondral injury more accurately cracks or crevices of cartilage extending from the articular surface to the deeper chondral layers. They usually develop as a result of high compressive forces 1 and are often found in the patellar or trochlear cartilage.
Is osteochondral defect serious?
Osteochondral lesions of the talus are a reasonably infrequent cause of long-standing ankle pain and stiffness and are often the result of a severe ankle sprain type injury. The presence of an osteochondral lesion may initially go undetected and may manifest many months after the initial ankle injury.
Do osteochondral defects get worse?
It is not unusual for an osteochondral defect to go undiagnosed for years. Some defects occur as part of the aging process, are progressive and get worse over time. Other such osteochondral defects occur with a traumatic episode such as an accident or hard fall.
What does chondral wear mean?
Chondral lesions may be degenerative (a “wear and tear” problem) or traumatic (caused by an injury such as falling on the knee, jumping down, or rapidly changing direction while playing a sport). They do not always produce symptoms at first because there are no nerves in the cartilage.
What causes a chondral flap?
Causes Articular Cartilage Fissure An articular cartilage injury, or chondral injury, may occur as a result of a pivot or twist on a bent knee, a direct blow to the knee, or wear and tear as a patient gets older.
How painful is an osteochondral lesion?
A patient with an osteochondral lesion will often feel a dull ache in the joint and may also experience a mild locking or clicking of their knee or ankle joint. The affected joint may also seem to be loose.
What’s the difference between a chondral and an osteochondral defect?
Chondral/Osteochondral Defect. A chondral defect refers to a focal area of damage to the articular cartilage (the cartilage that lines the end of the bones). An osteochondral defect refers to a focal area of damage that involves both the cartilage and a piece of underlying bone. These can occur from an acute traumatic injury to…
How to determine the location of a chondral defect?
Therefore, we recommend the use of a 3-Tesla MRI scanner to best determine the location of a chondral defect of the knee. In addition, this information can determine if there is any deeper bony defect, such as a cyst or swelling of the bone, which may indicate that this involves not only the cartilage,…
Can a torn cartilage cause a chondral defect?
There are many factors which need to be thoroughly investigated for patients who have symptoms from chondral defects. Ligament tears of the knee can cause and accelerate chondral defects and may need to be reconstructed either before or at the same time as a cartilage resurfacing procedure to slow down the progression of arthritis.
What is the most common treatment for chondral defects?
The most commonly used treatment involves smoothing the rough areas of the defect with a shaving technique; however, significant research in this area of medicine has led to the development of several new ways to address this difficult problem. the size of the defect. the location of the defect in the knee. the age and weight of the patient.
What is the best treatment for chondral defects in the knee?
Knee arthroscopy can be done to remove painful cartilage flaps. Microfracture is an additional arthroscopic procedure performed to restore injured cartilage. The procedure involves making multiple perforations into the subchondral bone in the areas where cartilage is deficient, which allow stem cells to fill the void out of the cartilage defect.
What does chondral changes in the knee mean?
In the knee, chondromalacia is usually related to injury, overuse of the knee, and poorly aligned muscles and bones around the knee joint. These causes include: Trauma, especially a fracture (break) or dislocation of the kneecap. An imbalance of the muscles around the knee (Some muscles are weaker than others.)
What is an osteochondral defect?
Osteochondral Defect is the name given to a condition most noticeable in the knee, in which a part of the bone and cartilage gets separated from the knee joint resulting in chronic pain in the knee and difficulties performing normal activities of daily living. 1 The knee joint is perhaps one…
What is a chondral flap in knee?
In the knee, chondral flaps and fractures are radiographically occult articular cartilage injuries that can mimic meniscal tears clinically; once correctly diagnosed, these injuries can be treated surgically.