Patient Information Resources


Orthogate
1089 Spadina Road
Toronto, AL M5N 2M7
Ph: 416-483-2654
Fax: 416-483-2654
christian@orthogate.com






Ankle
Child Orthopedics
Elbow
Foot
General
Hand
Hip
Knee
Shoulder
Spine - Cervical
Spine - Lumbar
Spine - Thoracic
Wrist

View Web RX

« Back

Effects of Mosaicplasty on Donor Sites in the Knee

Posted on: 12/20/2007
In this article, researchers from Japan report on the effects of harvesting bone plugs from the knee to treat a problem in the elbow. The patients were all competitive athletes. They had an elbow condition called osteochondritis dissecans (OCD).

Young gymnasts and overhand athletes are at risk for this condition. Most of the patients in this study were baseball pitchers. Forceful and repeated actions strain the immature surface of the outer part of the elbow joint.

The bone under the joint surface weakens and becomes injured. This causes damage to the blood vessels going to the bone. A loss of blood flow to the elbow causes a small section of the bone to die and break off.

Successful treatment involves taking bone plugs from healthy bone and transplanting them to the damaged and dying area of bone. The procedure is called mosaicplasty.

But what is the effect of this procedure on the knee where the donor bone comes from? MRI findings and tests of knee function were used to find out.

In all cases, the athletes returned to their previous level of sports participation. There were no donor site problems. MRIs of the donor site showed the defect filled in with fibrous tissue. There was no edema of the bone marrow or other changes seen on MRIs at the donor site.

The authors conclude there is no harm harvesting bone from a less weight bearing area of the knee to use in the elbow for OCD. Symptoms, function, and healing of the donor site are not a problem at the end of 12 months. Long-term studies are still needed to see if degeneration or other problems occur later in the donor knee.

References:
Norimasa Iwasaki, MD, PhD, et al. Donor Site Evaluation After Autologous Osteochondral Mosaicplasty for Cartilaginous Lesions of the Elbow Joint. In The American Journal of Sports Medicine. December 2007. Vol. 35. No. 12. Pp. 2096-2100.

« Back





*Disclaimer:*The information contained herein is compiled from a variety of sources. It may not be complete or timely. It does not cover all diseases, physical conditions, ailments or treatments. The information should NOT be used in place of visit with your healthcare provider, nor should you disregard the advice of your health care provider because of any information you read in this topic.


All content provided by eORTHOPOD® is a registered trademark of Mosaic Medical Group, L.L.C.. Content is the sole property of Mosaic Medical Group, LLC and used herein by permission.