Introduction: We report one surgeon’s experience with autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) for the treatment of large chondral knee defects

Method: Over a five-year period, 295 chondral knee defects in 169 patients were treated with ACI. Most patients were complex having failed other treatments. Only 4% of patients had simple condylar lesions. Patients were followed prospectively. Patients were independently evaluated by an history, clinical examination, WOMAC score, Cincinnati Knee Score (CKS), IKDC, SF-36 and patient satisfaction scores administered pre-operatively and at 12, 24, 36 and 48 months post-operatively.

Results: Two hundred and sixty seven grafts (89%) were functioning well. The common causes for graft failure were poor graft incorporation and delamination, non-compliant rehabilitation and progressive osteoarthritis. Periosteal hypertrophy was present in 20% requiring arthroscopic debridement. All outcome measures improved significantly with time.

Conclusion: In a complex group of patients ACI showed encouraging results in the short term.