Cartilage Repair & Regeneration

Cartilage repair and regeneration at UCSF Health

Our orthopedic surgeons specialize in regenerating and repairing damaged knee cartilage. We use advanced, effective therapies to treat cartilage damage caused by:

• ACL and ligament injuries
• Cartilage injury
• Knee joint misalignment
• Meniscus loss or injury
• Osteochondral defect
• Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD)

In addition to repairing cartilage, our orthopedic specialists treat the underlying knee condition to help you regain and maintain mobility.

Cartilage treatment tailored to you

At your first visit, we discuss your symptoms, health history and recovery goals. We examine how your knee moves and may perform imaging tests, such as an MRI, to see the tissues inside your knee.

Our skilled orthopedic surgeons help restore joint cartilage so you can get back to the activities you enjoy. We may combine several treatment options depending on your age, desired activity level and severity of symptoms. Your provider works with you to determine what treatments will be most appropriate and effective for you.

Nonsurgical cartilage treatments

Your orthopedic specialist may recommend nonsurgical treatments to help your knee feel better:

• Oral medications. We offer medication options to reduce inflammation and pain.
• Injections. We provide targeted joint injections, including hyaluronic acid, cortisone and orthobiologics, such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP).
• Physical therapy. In combination with other treatments, physical therapy can help strengthen muscles around the knee joint and improve joint mobility.

Knee cartilage surgery

Our orthopedic surgeons can help when nonsurgical treatments aren’t working. The surgical team performs many knee cartilage surgeries arthroscopically, a minimally invasive approach that uses a small camera through tiny incisions to repair the damage in your knee.

There are several surgical approaches we may use to repair and regenerate your knee cartilage, including:

Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI)

ACI is an innovative procedure that grows an implant from your own healthy cartilage cells. Your surgeon completes this in two stages:

1. Collection of the healthy cells from your knee
2. Placement of the lab-grown implant into your knee

The two procedures typically happen three to four weeks apart, so the cells have enough time to grow before we implant them into your knee.

Osteochondral grafting

To treat damaged cartilage, our surgeons may move healthy cartilage from a less critical part of your knee to the damaged area. A graft from your own knee is called an autograft.

Sometimes, we use donor cartilage, called an allograft, to repair a cartilage injury. You and your surgeon discuss which type of graft is right for you.

Ongoing follow-up care

After knee cartilage surgery, you’ll see your surgeon regularly over the next year. Our skilled physical therapists help you regain strength and mobility in your knee.

If damage in the knee joint is severe enough that cartilage repair and regeneration aren’t possible, you may be a candidate for a knee replacement procedure. We connect you with UCSF Health orthopedic surgeons specializing in joint replacement to discuss your options.