Cartilage Restoration

Reliable Orthopedic Services Throughout Irvine and Orange County

Hoag Orthopedic Institute is known to offer service from sub-specialty trained orthopedic surgeons who handle cartilage restoration, arthroscopic knee surgery, and other cartilage disorders. When you come to one of our orthopedic facilities in Orange County, you can expect top quality care.

The small layer of cartilage surfacing your knee joint performs a critical function by allowing your joint to and supporting your weight at the same time. This cartilage also distributes force during repetitive pounding-like movements such as jumping or running, often done in sports. For these reasons, your knee cartilage must be both elastic and firm.

When you suffer cartilage damage or loss, you may experience these symptoms:

• Knee locking
• Localized pain and swelling
• Knee catching

Cartilage restoration may be an option if you have experienced cartilage damage or loss due to an injury caused by trauma, repetitive sports, or work related activities. You will need to meet with one of our surgeons to determine if this is the best route for restoring mobility and eliminating pain.

Options for Restoring Your Cartilage

Autologous chondrocyte implantation, or ACI, is one of the procedures you and your doctor may consider for cartilage reconstruction. With ACI, you should prepare for two surgeries. During the first arthroscopic surgery, a few cartilage cells are taken from the knee and transferred to a lab. For four to six weeks the cells are grown in a culture and multiplied. The second surgery then takes place wherein a periosteal patch, taken from thick tissue that covers the shin bone, is sutured over the area of the damaged cartilage. The cultured cells are then implanted into the lesion where they will continue to multiply and integrate with surrounding cartilage.

Another recent cartilage reconstruction procedure involves producing cartilage tissue artificially by placing cells on a porous scaffold material. The cells then grow on this frame, called an artificial scaffold, where they form tissue. When the artificial cartilage is inserted in the patient’s knee, the supporting scaffold is gradually resorbed and only the cartilage tissue remains.

Cartilage repair can also be done through microfracture surgery. The procedure works by creating tiny fractures in the underlying bone. This causes new cartilage to develop from a so-called super-clot. The surgery is quick, minimally invasive, and can have a short recovery time. Microfracture, ACI, and the artificial scaffold are leading edge procedures and techniques in which the orthopedic surgeons aligned with Hoag Orthopedic are recognized experts, which is just another reason you should come to our Irvine orthopedic facility for treatment.

Post-operative rehabilitation will be very important when undergoing cartilage restoration. At Hoag, your physical therapist will begin working closely with you, your physician, and your family right away. Their goal is to help you regain full, optimal use of your knee. To derive maximum benefit from your surgery, you will be asked to adhere to a personalized rehabilitation plan.

Find an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in cartilage restoration of the knee.
Call us at (949) 705-6493

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