Biomaterials and Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells in the Treatment of Knee Articular Surface Lesions

Biomaterials and Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells in the Treatment of Knee Articular Surface Lesions

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the combined single-step approach with biomaterials and mesenchymal stem/stromal cells in the treatment of knee articular surface lesions. The clinical analysis of the treatment outcomes, regarding postoperative improvements and safety, is going to be accompanied with laboratory analysis of the intraoperatively applied cellular products.

The main hypothesis are: (1) such combined single-step procedure significantly improves patients' functioning and quality of life; (2) this therapeutic approach is safe; (3) cellular parameters of the applied filtered bone marrow aspirate (fBMA) impact treatment outcomes, among other potential predictors.

Researchers will compare subjective (questionnaire) and objective (clinical examination) status of patients before and after the operation, record any potential complications and perform regression analysis to assess the influence of potential predictors on postoperative improvements.

Inclusion Criteria:

• informed consent
• patients treated with combined single-step procedure (scaffold and fBMA) for knee articular surface lesions, between January 2013 and December 2020
• symptomatic knee articular surface lesions (International cartilage repair society (ICRS) grades 3-4, size ≥ 1.5 cm2) unresponsive to conservative treatment,
• only mild concomitant osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grades 1-2)

Exclusion Criteria:

• patients that refuse to participate in the study
• non responders to the invitation to answer PROMs at the follow-up
• associated medical conditions (inflammatory, metabolic, neoplastic, etc.) that could directly handicap the musculoskeletal system or indirectly impact the quality of life