Prosthetic inlay resurfacing for the treatment of focal, full thickness cartilage defects of the femoral condyle: a bridge between biologics and conventional arthroplasty.

PURPOSE: Localized full thickness defects of the femoral condyle can be highly symptomatic. Treatment options for these lesions are numerous in young patients, however they become increasingly challenging in middle aged and older patients. In order to delay traditional joint replacement procedures and to provide a soft tissue and bone sparing alternative, this study assess a focal inlay resurfacing procedure.

METHODS

Between 2004 and 2008, a consecutive series of 27 patients were treated with the Arthrosurface HemiCAP(®) Focal Femoral Condyle Resurfacing Prosthesis and were assessed to study the clinical benefit of this procedure. Outcome measures included the KOOS, IKDC, HSS and WOMAC as well as physical and radiographic evaluation.

RESULTS

Nineteen patients met the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 18 were available for review at a median follow-up of 34 months (range 20-57).The median age was 49 years (range 43-78). 63% had early arthritis, 5.2% localized osteonecrosis, and 31.6% had a focal traumatic full thickness defect. The follow-up total WOMAC score averaged 90.1 ± 9.3, The KOOS showed very good to excellent scores in all domains and also when compared to age-matched normative data. Significant improvement was seen with the HSS Score. On IKDC examination, 83.4% had normal or nearly normal results.

CONCLUSION

Focal femoral condyle resurfacing demonstrated excellent results for pain and function in middle-aged, well selected patients with full thickness cartilage and osteochondral defects. Patient profiling and assessment of confounding factors, in particular mechanical joint alignment; meniscal function; and healthy opposing cartilage surfaces, are important for an individual treatment approach and successful outcomes.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.