Revision Surgery After Cartilage Repair: Data From the KnorpelRegister DGOU)

What is it about?

The present article represents an analysis of 2659 cases of the German Cartilage Registry. So far, only small cases series have been presented dealing with general complications following cartilage repair procedures. Furthermore, none of those previous reports also focus on concomitant surgeries which are becoming more and more relevant in the context of cartilage repair procedures. The present article aims on providing realistic complications rate based upon a large cohort of patients and therefore analysis safety of various cartilage repair procedures.

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Why is it important?

Based upon the analysis of 2659 patients with a minimum follow-up of 12 months following cartilage repair interventions, the overall revision rate was 3.3 %. Arthrofibrosis and infection were the most common complications requiring revision surgery. Neither the location nor defect size appeared to lead to an increased revision rate, which was greatest after osteochondral autografts (5.2%) and autologous chondrocyte implantation (4.6%). Revision rates did not differ significantly among surgical techniques. Interestingly, revision rate was higher in cases with combined cartilage repair and ligament reconstruction (5.8%) as well as in cases of cartilage repair and patella realignment (4.5%), but in those cases with combined cartilage repair and realignment osteotomies (2.6%).

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