Juvenile Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee. About A Case

INTRODUCTION: Juvenile osteochondritis dissecans is a pathology that affects the superficial articular cartilage and subchondral bone in patients with open physes. Treatment of this disease is based on patient’s age and the stage of the disease. METHODS: 16-year-old patient, athlete, with a history of knee pain on the right side of acute onset, without traumatic history. A physical examination shows pain in the external compartment of the knee. MRI shows a stable lesion that involves the external femoral condyle, over a posterior area of 16 mm by 20mm. Crutches are indicate for walking without body burden. Symptoms continue for six months and there are no changes in MRI. It is decided to do a stabilization with a Herbert type screw. After the surgery, pain persists and in x-ray controls, osteointegration is not observed. Osteosynthesis material is extracted and mosaicplasty is performed. We used Guhl’s intraoperative classification. RESULTS: In this case, for a young patient with Guhl’s lesion type III, the reduction with a Herbert type screw was indicated, as the lesion was stable, of a significant size and congruent. Lesion progressed to type IV in 6 months. Thus, mosaicplasty was performed, obtaining a good functional result according to the physical exam, with a complete range of flexion and extension. A second-look arthroscopic assessment was carried out 2 months after surgery, showing osteointegration and stability of the allogenic graft. CONCLUSION: The variable of stability of the fragment is very important when determining the treatment. Most of the stable lesions can be successfully treated with a conservative treatment. Also, it has been demonstrated that young patients have a higher rate of healing. Instead, unstable lesions require surgical treatment.