The Use of Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation for Primary Treatment of Cartilage Injuries in the Knee

OBJECTIVES: To assess the clinical outcome of OCA transplantation used as primary treatment for chondral and osteochondral lesions in the knee. In most treatment algorithms, osteochondral allograft (OCA) transplantation is regarded as a salvage procedure when previous treatments have failed. No publications have assessed the outcome of OCA transplantation used as primary treatment for cartilage lesions in the knee. METHODS: Our OCA outcomes database was used to identify 61 patients who underwent OCA transplantation as primary treatment for a chondral or osteochondral defect and had a minimum follow-up of two years. None of the patients had previous surgery on the involved knee prior to the OCA. Included in the analysis were 32 males and 29 females with a mean age of 32.9 years (range 15.7-67.8 years). The most common diagnoses were osteochondritis dissecans (44.3%) and avascular necrosis (31.1%), followed by osteoarthritis (8.2%), degenerative chondral lesion (6.6%), traumatic chondral injury (6.6%), and fracture (3.2%). The mean graft area was 9.6 cm(2). The majority of grafts were located on the medial (47.5%) and lateral (24.6%) femoral condyles. Thirty-five patients (57.4%) had one graft, 22 (36.2%) had two grafts, and 4 (6.6%) had three grafts. Each patient was evaluated pre- and postoperatively with the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), a modified Merle d’Aubigné-Postel (18-point) scale, and Knee Society function (KS-F) score. Patients came in for a clinical evaluation or were contacted via telephone for follow-up. The number and type of reoperations following the OCA transplantation was captured. Failure was defined as revision OCA or conversion to arthroplasty. Patient satisfaction was assessed. RESULTS: The mean follow-up duration was 7.6 years (range, 1.9 to 22.6 years). Eighteen knees (29.5%) had further surgery following the OCA transplantation. Seven knees (11.5%) had procedures unrelated to the allograft and 11 knees (18%) were considered OCA failures with eight conversions to arthroplasty, two revision OCA, and one patellectomy. The mean time to failure was 5.9 years (range, 0.5-13.7 years). OCA survivorship was 89.5% at 5 years and 74.7% at 10 years. Forty-three (70.5%) knees had their OCA still in situ at latest follow-up. Thirty-eight (84.5%) were rated good/excellent on the 18-point scale. The mean IKDC scores improved from 36.9 preoperatively to 80.4 postoperatively. The KS-F scores improved from 66.5 to 89.7. Eighty-six percent of patients reported being “extremely satisfied” or “satisfied.” CONCLUSION: OCA transplantation is an acceptable primary treatment method for some chondral and osteochondral defects of the knee. Failure of previous surgical treatment is not a prerequisite for OCA surgery. Outcomes in this group are comparable to other cartilage repair treatment options.