Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation for Treatment of Focal Cartilage Defects in Patients Age 40 Years and Older: A Matched-Pair Analysis with 2-Year Follow-up

BackgroundAutologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) is an accepted surgical treatment in patients with isolated cartilage defects of the knee. Age has been considered as a limiting factor and the technique has not been recommended in patients older than 40 to 50 years. Nevertheless, some more recent studies report satisfying clinical results in middle-aged patients.HypothesisAnalogous to the microfracture technique, age over 40 years is associated with inferior clinical outcome after ACI.Study DesignCohort study; Level of evidence, 2.MethodsThirty-seven patients with an average age of 47.8 years (group 1) were matched with 37 patients with an average age of 31 years (group 2). Both groups underwent ACI for treatment of isolated cartilage defects of the knee. All patients were enrolled prospectively and followed for a period of 24 months using International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Lysholm scale, Cincinnati sports scale, and Tegner activity evaluation instruments.ResultsStatistical analysis rev...