One-stage autologous cartilage repair with chondral fragments in a mixed scaffold (winner of ESSKA-dj ORTHO Grant 2006).

Different surgical procedure have been developed in order to enhance the repair of articular cartilage, that is a common problem in orthopaedics. One stage cartilage repair is a promising approach: delivering a viable cell source in a scaffold without ex vivo cell expansion. Aim of the study is to show a new “one-stage” surgical procedure for cartilage repair combining “in situ” minced autologous cartilage fragments with a moldable resorbable scaffold composed of fibrin glue, a high molecular weight hyaluronic acid derivative and autologous platelet-enriched plasma. Chondrocytes outgrowth into the scaffold is demonstrated in explants cultures of rabbit and human. Repair process in cartilage healing is evaluated in-vivo on animal model (24 rabbits) with morphological and histological analysis and improved of treated defects compared to controls.