Men and women demonstrate comparable rates of failures and reoperations following primary osteochondral allograft transplantation of the knee, but women undergo reoperation sooner.

Purpose: To compare the differences between men and women who receive primary osteochondral allograft transplantation of the knee with regard to preoperative disease presentation, failures and reoperations.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients ≥18 years old who underwent primary osteochondral allograft transplantation between 2002 and 2020 by a single surgeon with a minimum of 2-year follow-up was performed. Demographic, preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative data were collected for all included patients. Patients were then assigned to two groups, either male or female, based on their reported sex. Statistical analysis was performed to assess sex-related differences in baseline characteristics, comparative survival analysis for determining survival probabilities, and regression analysis for determining variables associated with subsequent reoperation or failure.

Results: Among the 437 patients that were identified, 337 patients (77.1% follow-up, 161 men, 176 women) with a minimum of 2-year follow-up were included in our study. The mean age of included patients was 31.3 ± 9.9 years (range, 18.0-55.9), with a BMI of 26.7 ± 4.4 (range, 19.0-39.0) and a mean follow-up of 5.6 ± 2.6 years (range, 2.0-16.3). Male patients had significantly higher body mass index (BMI) (p ≤ 0.01), were more likely to have lesions on the medial femoral condyle (p = 0.041), and had larger lesions at the medial femoral condyle (p ≤ 0.01) and lateral femoral condyle (p ≤ 0.01). 36.8% of patients experienced subsequent reoperation (59 male, 65 female). Mean time to reoperation was 3.5 ± 2.8 years (range, 0.4-16.3 years) in males and 2.1 ± 1.9 years (range, 0.1-13.5 years) in females. No significant difference was found between the two groups with regard to reoperation rates (n.s.) or survivability free from reoperation (n.s.), but females were found to undergo reoperation sooner (p = 0.028). Sixty-three (18.7%) patients experienced subsequent graft failure (36 male, 27 female). No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of failure rates, time to failure, survivability free from failure, or mode of failure (n.s. for all).

Conclusions: Despite several differences in baseline demographics and intraoperative variables, no significant differences were found between men and women receiving primary osteochondral allograft transplantation of the knee with regard to failure or reoperation, with the exception that women underwent reoperation sooner.

Study Design: Retrospective Comparative Cohort Study.

Level Of Evidence: Level III.