in the knee, two in the elbow and one in the shoulder. He points out that it's indicated
for use in any joint but primarily used in the knee.
"The patient has to have an isolated loss of cartilage in an area that is 4 cm
2
or less,
and everything else has to be normal. There can be no mal-alignment; the patient
can't be knock-kneed or bow-legged. If he or she is, that has to be corrected at the
same time as the cartilage repair," he explains.
"The patient can't have an unstable knee. If he or she is ACL deficient, that has to
be corrected at the same time, too," he adds. "They have to have a fairly normal joint
space, as well."
As for age limitation, there doesn't seem to be any. However, the single-stage
procedure is not indicated for patients with total joint disease, degenerative arthritis
or osteoarthritis.
"It's usually for a sports injury or over-use injury," Dr. Fleissner explains. "A lot of
our patients are kids who have been injured playing sports, and they lose cartilage
from their knee cap or end of their thigh bone."
He points out that the single-stage procedure seems to be working very well so
far. In addition to being less traumatic for the patient, it's less expensive than the
traditional 2-stage cartilage defect surgery.
"I am excited to offer this innovative procedure," he says. "I hope it becomes more
prevalent and the standard of care for cartilage defects."
For more information, or to refer a patient, call Dr. Paul Fleissner at 330-668-4040. n
Single-Stage
Autologous Chondrocyte
Implantation in the Knee
IMAGES
COURTESY
OF
PAUL
R.
FLEISSNER,
JR.,
MD,
CRYSTAL
CLINIC
ORTHOPAEDIC
CENTER,
AKRON
OH
0 8 ❱❱❱❱❱ C O V E R S T O R Y