What is a chondral fissure?
Chondral fissures are a type of chondral injury more accurately cracks or crevices of cartilage extending from the articular surface to the deeper chondral layers. They usually develop as a result of high compressive forces 1 and are often found in the patellar or trochlear cartilage.
Do chondral fissures heal?
When it does heal, it is usually a fibrocartilage tissue layer that heals, which may or may not be functional over the long term.
How do you fix a chondral fissure?
This treatment involves using the patient’s own cartilage cells. The patient’s articular cartilage cells are arthroscopically removed from the injured knee and grown outside the body in tissue culture. After a growth period of three weeks, a second surgical procedure is performed to implant these cells into the defect.
What is fissuring in the knee?
Fissuring: A fissure in the articular cartilage occurs when there is a cleavage within the layer of cartilage causing a separation between the layer. Sometimes this causes no symptoms, while others it can cause a catching sensation.
What is full thickness cartilage defect?
A: Defects or lesions of the articular cartilage that lines the surface of your knee joint are called full-thickness when the cartilage pulls away with a piece of the underlying bone still attached. Damage like that often causes painful swelling, locking of the knee joint, and instability.
What is a full thickness cartilage fissure?
The full thickness fissuring means that cartilage on the outer thigh bone (lateral femoral condyle) is broken in full depth. The cartilage in the joint gives a glistening surface for the smooth movement.
What is a chondral flap in knee?
In the knee, chondral flaps and fractures are radiographically occult articular cartilage injuries that can mimic meniscal tears clinically; once correctly diagnosed, these injuries can be treated surgically.