Damage to the articular cartilage that is found within the knee joint can result in a variety of chronic and excruciating symptoms, including swelling and stiffness in the knee. It is well established that problems with the cartilage can initiate the onset of arthritis and osteoarthritis.

Patients who have these defects can now benefit from surgical procedures that have been developed to treat them, delaying the need for total knee replacement surgery.

Your doctor may use a technique known as arthroscopic abrasion arthroplasty, which involves rasping damaged areas to promote bleeding and the formation of fibrocartilage, also known as scar tissue, which covers the damaged area. This is one of the procedures that can be used to restore knee articular lining. Fibrocartilage is not the same as normal articular cartilage, but it can be helpful in reducing the symptoms of cartilage damage.

A procedure called abrasion arthroplasty is one that helps to stimulate the production of new cartilage in the knee. The subchondral bone, which is the bone that lies underneath the cartilage and is referred to by that name, is drilled for this minimally invasive procedure.

This drilling induces a bleeding and healing response, during which the affected region develops fibrous tissue that has the potential to replace the damaged cartilage. Reach out to the best ortho doctor in Coimbatore to undergo the procedure.

Who is the perfect candidate for the abrasion arthroplasty procedure?

There are certain circumstances in which abrasion arthroplasty is recommended, including the following:

• Arthritis degenerative of the knee
• Reduced available space in the joint
• Sclerotic lesion that is exposed
• Persons of a more advanced age
• A lack of success with other treatments or therapies

Minimally-invasive Restoration procedure

An arthroscope and other small surgical tools are utilized during the procedure known as abrasion arthroplasty. This allows the surgeon to access the joint and encourage the growth of fibrocartilage. The arthroscope is a small, flexible tube that can be used to view the inside of the knee. Attached to the end of the tube are a light and a camera. In order to insert the arthroscope and the surgical tools, only tiny “keyhole” incisions need to be made.

The region of defective or thin cartilage is cleaned or abraded, which removes any bone spurs or debris that may be present. In order to bring bleeding and bone stem cells to the surface and shape the bare bone, which can stimulate the production of fibrocartilage in that area, the bare bone must first be shaped and then removed.

Abrasion arthroplasty is most effective for treating localized areas of damaged cartilage that are not too large and can be patched up with fibrocartilage to lessen the effects of friction, inflammation, and pain. When dealing with larger areas of thin or missing cartilage, it is possible that other methods of joint preservation will prove to be more effective in achieving the desired result.

What is referred to as microfracture?

Microfracture is a surgical procedure that was developed to treat chondral defects, which are damaged areas of articular cartilage of the knee. Chondral defects can be treated successfully with microfracture. Patients who have damage to the articular cartilage that is full thickness and extends all the way down to the bone typically undergo this procedure, which is a common treatment option.

Abrasion arthroplasty vs microfracture:

Both abrasion arthroplasty and microfracture are methods that, despite their differences in technique, are used to introduce bleeding from subchondral bone into the lesion in the joint. The clot that forms over the region reorganizes into predominantly fibrocartilaginous tissue after it has had time to do so.

The procedure of the abrasion arthroplasty treatment:

During this procedure, your doctor will make small keyhole incisions in order to insert a camera into the joint of the knee so that he can perform an internal examination of the knee. During this procedure, the doctor is able to see the areas of cartilage that have been damaged and locate any bone spurs (osteophytes), rough bits, chipped pieces, and so on.

Specialists do this by using small surgical tools to gently abrade and stimulate the damaged surface, all the way down to the bleeding knee bone marrow stem cells. Then, he reshapes the joint so that blood and bone marrow stem cells can make their way to the surface and cover bare areas with fibrocartilage.

Your doctor might choose to perform an abrasion arthroplasty on a more limited portion of the knee joint rather than the whole thing. According to the findings of recent studies, fibrocartilage, which is the substance that grows over the surface of the cartilage, is not as robust as the normal cartilage.

When it comes to wider or larger cartilage defects, for which there are other treatment options, performing this procedure on smaller, more localized defects yields better results than doing so on wider or larger defects. Consult the Abrasion arthroplasty in Coimbatore in case you are looking for advanced treatment.

The recovery time after the abrasion arthroplasty treatment takes:

If the surgical procedure was performed on a weight-bearing area, you might need to use crutches for six to eight weeks after the operation. During the abrasion arthroplasty knee recovery time, you will be given specific instructions to ensure that you do not place an excessive amount of weight on the joint. You will also be instructed to steer clear of activities such as stair climbing, squatting, and walking on steep inclines.

Because walking is an effective way to speed up the healing process, doing it on a regular basis is strongly recommended. Your recovery could take anywhere from four to twelve weeks, depending on the extent of the damage that needs to be fixed, before you are able to get back to your regular routine.