Patients who have cartilage damage in their knees often experience pain and are unable to engage in sports and other activities they enjoy. Two studies at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) find that cartilage restoration procedures are a viable treatment option for patients over 40 years old.
"Various cartilage restoration procedures have demonstrated success rates ranging from 50 to 90 percent, but the majority of reported results were in patients ages 30 and younger," said Riley J. Williams, III, MD, senior study author and director of the Institute for Cartilage Repair at Hospital for Special Surgery. "Our studies are the first to look at outcomes of three specific procedures used to repair damaged cartilage in patients over 40."
The research, presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, found that procedures using different types of cartilage "plugs" relieved pain and improved function in patients with articular cartilage damage.
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