Background:Patellar cartilage defects account for 34.6% of defects found during routine
arthroscopy. These defects pose a challenge in orthopaedic surgery because
they have been associated with worse outcomes after surgical repair compared
with other chondral lesions within the knee.Purpose:To systematically review the literature for evidence on results of
osteochondral autologous transplantation (OAT) for the management of
isolated patellar cartilage high-grade defects (International Cartilage
Repair Society [ICRS] grade 3-4).Study Design:Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.Methods:A systematic review of the literature was performed to find studies that
addressed outcomes regarding OAT to treat patellar high-grade cartilage
defects (ICRS grade 3-4). Studies addressing patient-reported outcomes,
return to sports, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at follow-up after
isolated OAT procedures for patellar cartilage defects were included.Results:A total of 5 studies were included in this review. We were not able to
perform a meta-analysis as no studies had available data. A total of 102
patients who received an isolated OAT for a patellar chondral defect were
included in these 5 studies. All patients showed significant improvement at
final follow-up based on the following patient-reported outcome scores:
Lysholm, International Knee Documentation Committee, Kujala, Tegner, and
36-Item Short Form Health Survey. We found that 4 studies used MRI during
the first postoperative year to assess osteochondral plug integration and
positioning. The results demonstrated that most plugs were integrated and
correctly positioned when evaluated at follow-up, conducted on average after
12 months. Whether patients were able to return to sports was queried in 2
of the included studies, revealing that patients could return to their
previous level in most cases (Tegner score, 5-9 at 2 years after
surgery).Conclusion:Results indicate that OAT is a safe and reliable technique to treat patellar
high-grade osteochondral defects, allowing for significant improvement in
patient-reported outcomes and return to sports.