The arthroscopic treatment of osteochondritis dissecans of the knee with autologous bone sticks

Purpose: To present a new surgical technique for the fixation of partial dislocated osteochondral fragments in athletes with osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the knee. Type of Study: Retrospective case series. Methods: Autologous bone sticks were taken from the ipsilateral tibial metaphysis and used in the arthroscopic fixation of unilateral osteochondritis dissecans of the knee in 11 patients (5 female and 6 male). Patient age ranged from 11 to 20 years (mean, 16 years). Fixation of the partially dislocated fragments of the OCD of the knee was performed following a modified arthroscopic procedure and autologous bone graft. Results: Follow-up ranged from 15 to 108 months (mean, 48 months). Based on modified criteria of Hughston et al., results were satisfactory in 90.9% and unsatisfactory in 9.1% of the cases. Conclusions: Arthroscopic fixation of OCD of the knee with autologous bone sticks is technically simple and nonaggressive and provides satisfactory results in most cases. Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery, Vol 18, No 8 (October), 2002: pp 840–844