Cartilage Surgery
Cartilage Surgery
Preserving and restoring the cartilage of your knee — from meniscal repair through to advanced biological reconstruction and injection therapies designed to delay or avoid joint replacement.
Treatments offered
Meniscal tears & repair
A preservation-first approach: where possible the torn meniscus is repaired rather than removed, protecting the joint long term. Selective partial meniscectomy is reserved for tears that cannot be repaired.
Chondral & osteochondral defect repair
Treatment of focal cartilage and cartilage-bone defects using techniques such as microfracture, fixation of osteochondral fragments (OCD fixation) and osteochondral grafting.
ACI — Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation
A two-stage biological technique using your own cultured cartilage cells to regenerate hyaline-like cartilage in larger defects, helping delay or avoid joint replacement.
Arthrosamid injection
A non-biodegradable hydrogel injection for knee osteoarthritis. A single injection cushions the joint and can provide durable pain relief for patients not yet ready for surgery.
PRP — Platelet Rich Plasma
An injection prepared from your own blood, concentrating growth factors to support healing and reduce pain in early cartilage wear and soft-tissue injuries.
ACI — Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation
ACI is a two-stage biological procedure designed to regenerate hyaline-like cartilage in focal cartilage defects. It is particularly suited to younger, active patients with symptomatic isolated cartilage damage who wish to avoid or delay joint replacement.
Stage one: A small sample of healthy cartilage is arthroscopically harvested from a low-load area of your knee. These cells are then sent to a specialist laboratory where they are cultured and multiplied over several weeks, producing millions of your own chondrocytes.
Stage two: In an open procedure, the defect is prepared and the cultured cells are implanted beneath a watertight membrane sewn over the lesion. Over the following months, these cells form new repair tissue that closely resembles natural cartilage.
ACI is best for larger defects (typically 2–10 cm²) in patients with good limb alignment and stable knees. Recovery is gradual, with protected weight bearing for several weeks and structured rehabilitation over 9–12 months to allow the new tissue to mature.
Spherox
Spherox is an advanced two-stage cell therapy used to treat cartilage defects of the knee. It uses three-dimensional spheroids — tiny spherical clusters of your own chondrocytes — to promote the formation of new cartilage-like tissue.
Stage one: A small cartilage biopsy is taken arthroscopically from a low-load area of your knee. The cells are sent to a specialist laboratory where they are cultured and multiplied, then formed into spheroids ready for implantation.
Stage two: In a second procedure, the prepared spheroids are implanted directly into the prepared cartilage defect. The spheroid structure helps the cells settle and integrate into the lesion, encouraging robust repair tissue to form.
Spherox is indicated for focal cartilage defects in the knee, particularly in patients who may benefit from the spheroid delivery format. As with all cartilage regeneration techniques, a tailored rehabilitation programme is essential to protect the healing tissue and optimise long-term outcomes.