Background: Osteochondral autograft transplantation (OAT) for capitellar osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) requires harvesting of tissue from the asymptomatic knee joint. However, donor site morbidity (DSM) in such cases remains unclear.
Purpose: To evaluate DSM and postoperative radiographic findings in patients undergoing OAT for advanced capitellar OCD.
Study design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.
Methods: Eighty-six juvenile athletes underwent OAT for advanced capitellar OCD. The 2000 International Knee Documentation Committee subjective score, rate of return to sports, and symptoms in the donor knee were assessed at a mean follow-up of 86 months (range, 28-185 months). Additionally, 49 of the 86 patients were assessed by radiographic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of the knee donor site. DSM was defined according to the usual criterion (persistent symptoms for >1 year or the need for subsequent intervention) and a stricter criterion (the presence of any symptoms, such as effusion, patellofemoral complaints, crepitation, unspecified disturbance, stiffness, pain/instability during activities, and osteoarthritic change). The stricter criterion was also used to allocate patients into a DSM group and a no-DSM group.
Results: Two and 11 patients were determined to have DSM according to the usual and stricter criteria, respectively. All patients returned to the competitive level of their sports. The mean International Knee Documentation Committee score was 99.0. MRI findings showed abnormal signal intensity in 17 patients (35%) and hypertrophic changes in 11 patients (22%) at the donor harvest sites. The MOCART (magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue) score was higher in the no-DSM group (mean, 68.2) than in the DSM group (mean, 52.9) (P = .027).
Conclusion: OAT for juvenile athletes with advanced capitellar OCD provided good clinical outcomes. The DSM rate was relatively low (2.3%) with the usual criterion but high (12.8%) with the stricter criterion. MRI showed an abnormal signal intensity and hypertrophy in some cases.
Keywords: donor site; elbow joint; knee joint; osteochondral autograft transplantation (OAT); osteochondritis dissecans (OCD).