New cartilage repair technique shows early promise

A new cartilage repair technique – De Novo NT – that treats cartilage damage may produce better results than existing approaches.

Current measures include microfracture surgery (drilling small holes into the bone to encourage healing) or the fitting of donor cartilage tissue. But the new technique uses cartilage tissue from donors under the age of 13 years as it has a higher capacity to grow than cartilage taken from adults.

The team, from New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery, treated 17 people with cartilage damage on the kneecap (average lesion of 203mm) with De Novo NT. Two years later, the volunteers had an average of 30% improvement in scores from an international knee health evaluation form. And MRI scans showed visible signs of regenerated tissue.

“De Novo NT compares favourably to our existing techniques, given that it is easy to do and involves a one-step procedure,” says lead author Dr Scott Rodeo. “We are cautiously optimistic. It clearly regenerates tissue, but we need further long-term follow-up.”