Larger Chondral Lesions Treated with Collagen Membrane - Matrix-Induced Autologous Chondrogenesis - Show Larger Increase in Clinical Scores^*

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate clinically and radiologically the results of the treatment of chondral lesions using collagen membrane - autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (AMIC).

Methods

This is a series of observational cases, in which 15 patients undergoing AMIC were analyzed. The clinical evaluation was made by comparing the Lysholm and International Knee Document Commitee (IKDC) scores in the pre- and postoperative period of 12 months, and radiological evaluation using the Magnetic Resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue (MOCART) score in the same postoperative period.

Results

The mean age of the patients was 39.2 years old, and the mean size of the chondral lesions was 1.55cm². There was a significant improvement in clinical scores, with a mean increase of 24.6 points on Lysholm and of 24.3 on IKDC after 12 months. In the radiological evaluation, MOCART had a mean of 65 points. It was observed that the larger the size of the lesion, the greater the improvement in scores.

Conclusion

Evaluating subjective clinical scores, the treatment of chondral lesions with the collagen membrane showed good results, as well as the evaluation of MOCART, with greater benefit in larger lesions.

Keywords
articular cartilage; chondrogenesis; collagen; knee injuries