18 papers · updated 2026-09-26 · Sports Medicine · All topics
The newest papers on cartilage repair from the orthopaedic journals The Reduction reads, newest first, each with a one-line summary. The list is drawn from the digest’s archive and refreshed every week.
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In a porcine model, a novel nano-coated 3D-printed mini-prosthesis for focal cartilage lesions showed superior cartilage protection and osseointegration compared with a standard CoCr implant or microfracture.
Osteochondral autograft transfer offers durable joint-preserving outcomes for focal articular cartilage defects in young patients with high return-to-sport rates exceeding 85%.
This technique paper describes using absorbable polydioxanone sutures to fix small osteochondral fragments in upper extremity intra-articular fractures, achieving union and joint congruity in a clinical case series.
Poor mental health in patients with symptomatic osteochondral lesions of the talus.
This prospective study found that most patients with symptomatic osteochondral talar lesions have mental health scores as poor as those with mood/anxiety disorders, persisting even after successful treatment, supporting integrated mental health care.
A Novel Autologous Osteoperiosteal Composite for Osteochondral Regeneration.
Rabbit study shows an autologous osteoperiosteal composite graft outperforms microfracture in osteochondral defect repair, offering a promising single-stage cartilage regeneration strategy.
CT-based surface mapping identified the hallux proximal phalanx, fibular head, and radial head as geometrically matched osteochondral autograft donor sites for reconstructing distal humerus and proximal ulna articular defects in young patients.
In adolescents undergoing osteochondral autograft transplantation for capitellar OCD, preoperative proximal migration of the radial head >2.2mm independently predicted suboptimal outcomes.
In 250 patients with talar osteochondral lesions, apparent sex differences in lesion size were explained by patient height rather than sex itself, though females had higher odds of crater-type lesion morphology.
A prospective study of patient-specific talar resurfacing implants for osteochondral talar lesions showed sustained pain and functional improvement with high return-to-sport rates at 24 months.
BMAC augmentation improved early osseous integration of fresh osteochondral allografts at 3 months; no differences in clinical outcomes or later timepoints.
Monosodium urate crystal deposition significantly impairs microfracture outcomes in osteochondral lesions; uric acid elevation is an independent adverse prognostic factor.
An expert RAND/UCLA consensus finds surgical choice for knee cartilage lesions in footballers should be tailored to lesion characteristics and patient priority for quick return vs long-term results, favoring debridement+orthobiologics or regenerative techniques respectively while bone marrow stimulation is often inappropriate.
Corrigendum correcting a prior publication on CT-based pain associations in osteochondral lesions of the talus; read in conjunction with the original study for accurate interpretation.
Bibliometric analysis shows surgical talus osteochondral lesion treatment evolves from traditional techniques toward biological augmentation and regenerative medicine.
Personalized Resurfacing for Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus.
Customized patient-specific metal inlays offer a joint-preserving bridge treatment for osteochondral talus lesions with more predictable results than prefabricated implants.
Review with case examples on choosing osteochondral autograft versus allograft for treating large, unstable capitellar OCD lesions in overhead athletes.
This review of osteochondral fractures after patellofemoral instability finds nonoperative treatment generally yields worse outcomes than surgery, but evidence comparing fixation versus loose body removal remains inconclusive, highlighting the need for high-quality RCTs.
Next-generation marrow stimulation scaffolds including hyaluronic acid and biosynthetic hydrogels show promise to overcome limitations of traditional microfracture and improve cartilage regeneration.
Clinical Efficacy of the Microfracture Technique for Articular Cartilage Repair in the Knee
This systematic review found microfracture gives good short-term knee function improvement but lacks strong long-term data, with variable cartilage fill and possible late deterioration.
A decade of experience with autologous osteochondral mosaicplasty shows 79-94% good-to-excellent outcomes across knee, patellar, and talar defects with low donor-site morbidity, supporting it as a viable option for focal cartilage defects.
Articular cartilage defects in 1,000 knee arthroscopies
Among 1,000 consecutive knee arthroscopies, 61% showed chondral/osteochondral lesions and 19% had focal defects, with only 5–7% meeting criteria (size, age) for cartilage repair surgery.
Osteochondral talar lesions most commonly occur in the medial dome at the equator; medial lesions are larger and deeper than lateral lesions with different treatment implications.
Acute Patellar Dislocation in Children: Incidence and Associated Osteochondral Fractures
In a prospective Finnish cohort, acute pediatric patellar dislocation had an annual incidence of 43/100,000 and caused osteochondral fractures in 39% of knees, mostly after spontaneous relocation.
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