Articular cartilage repair techniques exploiting intrinsic healing capacity – which one is the best?

In this review article articular cartilage structure and organization is explained, followed by brief discussion on articular cartilage focal lesion development and subsequent endogenous regeneration, which mainly relies on presence of intrinsic healing capacity. In case of full thickness focal chondral defects intrinsic healing ability is insufficient and full spontaneous repair is almost never achieved. In those cases, cartilage repair techniques are indicated. Currently, the most commonly used articular cartilage repair techniques include three groups of techniques such as: bone marrow stimulation, osteochondral allografting/autografting and autologous chondrocyte implantation. These groups are further divided to specific cartilage repair techniques, discussed in detail and compared to other approaches. The information provided is intended to allow proper critical judgment and to answer the question “Which articular cartilage repair technique is the best for the particular patient?”