Operative Treatment of Knee Cartilage Injuries: A Review of the Current Literature on Non-Cell-Based and Cell-Based Therapies

Aims: Cartilage is frequently damaged through injury and disease but shows little or no capacity for repair. Injuries that extend to the subchondral level show some capacity for repair due to the release of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells. Focal articular cartilage defects are challenging clinical problems that may progress to more generalised lesions. We reviewed the literature to analyse the results of available noncell-based and cell-based strategies for the repair of articular cartilage defects in the knee.