The treatment of osteochondral lesions using a combination of autologous chondrocyte implantation and autograft: three-year follow-up.

In this study a combination of autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) and the osteochondral autograft transfer system (OATS) was used and evaluated as a treatment option for the repair of large areas of degenerative articular cartilage. We present the results at three years post-operatively. Osteochondral cores were used to restore the contour of articular cartilage in 13 patients with large lesions of the lateral femoral condyle (n = 5), medial femoral condyle (n = 7) and patella (n = 1).

A prospective comparison of clinical examination, MRI, bone SPECT, and arthroscopy to detect meniscal tears.

Recent studies have shown that SPECT bone scintigraphy is valuable to detect meniscal tears of the knee. This has not been formally assessed in a prospective study, and no substantive study has compared bone SPECT with other noninvasive diagnostic methods. One hundred consecutive patients referred to an orthopedic surgeon with undiagnosed knee pain were assessed by clinical examination, MRI, SPECT bone scintigraphy, and arthroscopy.

Plastering: a combination of old and new.

This study compares the standard plaster-of-Paris cast (Gypsona) with a combination case consisting of plaster-of-Paris covered with a double layer of a polymer casting bandage (Baycast). Thirteen subjects were studied. Each wore concurrently a standard plaster on one leg and a combination plaster on the other.