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Osteochondritis dissecans

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Written by Garotta Lorenzo   

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This is a differential diagnosis of meniscal lesion in children, teenagers and young adults. It is a disease whose lesions affect the bone under the cartilage. The arrow (photo #1) indicates an osteochondral lesion visible in an x-ray of the knee on the medial condyle. During and until the end of growth there is a strong likeliehood of a cure. With adolescence, evolution is less favorable and it is not rare to observe a separation of the osteochondral fragment. 

The arrow in the photo #2 points to a typical loss of the cartilage of the dissecans osteochondritis. The surgical grip is holding the osteochondral piece which was free in the articulation ("articular mouse"). In this case, the most common surgical technique which allows the graft of new cartilage is called "mosaicplasty" (image #3) ; several cylinders of cartilage are necessary in order to fill the defect (the "hole"). Another option, more rarely used, is a cartilage graft  (with cartilaginous cells cultivated in vitro).

Photo n#1:  osteochondritis dissecans    

 

  

Osteochondritis dissecans

   

Photo#2: Loss of cartilage and graft.

 

knee osteochondritis 

 

      Image #3:  Graft in place:

"mosaicplasty"

      

                         mosaicplasty           

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Last Updated on Saturday, 04 December 2010 20:53