Objective: The authors report a patient with large traumatic knee cartilage defects treated with autologous chondrocytes implantation (ACI) in three-dimensional collagen scaffold.
Material and method: A patient with grade 3-4 according to ICRS (International Cartilage Repair Society) Classification System was performed ACI with three-dimensional collagen scaffold. The two-stage procedure was performed First, the cartilage was arthroscopic harvested. The chondrocytes were isolated in the laboratory. Second, the chondrocytes were re-implanted into the defects using three-dimensional collagen scaffold. The patients were clinically evaluated pre-operatively and post operatively and magnetic resonance imaging. The duration of follow-up was 12 months.
Results: There was no post operative complication. The clinical evaluations were excellent. The MRI showed the hyaline-like cartilage tissue formation at the defects.
Conclusion: The autologous chondrocytes implantation with three-dimensional collagen scaffold showed the excellent outcome. Long-term follow-up is required.