The study shows that osteoarticular cartilage transplantation is superior to the standard of care for repairing cartilage defects in the knee and help return athletes to play more quickly. According to the release, only 40 percent of athletes return to their sport after a microfracture procedure, while more than 90 percent of the patients treated with the OATS procedure returned to play.
In the procedure, surgeons transfer healthy cartilage tissue from the patient's knee and transplant it onto the damaged area in an arthroscopic procedure. The surgeon can transfer a single plug or multiple plugs at one time.
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Cartilage Transplant Procedure Can Return Athletes to Play Better Than Microfracture
Written by Laura Miller | February 08, 2012
A new study led by Riley J. Williams, III, MD, a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, shows a new best standard of care for repairing damaged cartilage, according to a hospital news release.
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