When treating cartilage defects and chondral lesions, surgeons have traditionally performed microfracture surgery to replace and create new cartilage on the articular surface. This is because articular hyaline cartilage is avascular tissue that has limited regenerative capacity due to the absence of blood vessels and the low mitogenic potency of the chondrocytes. Unfortunately, cartilage created as a result of microfracture is not the same as the patient’s native hyaline cartilage.

Studies have shown that the main tissue formed after microfracture is fibrocartilage,^1,2 which does not dissipate compressive force to the same degree as the original hyaline cartilage. As a result, this production of fibrocartilage may have an effect on durability and eventual failure.¹ In fact, many researchers have observed that the long term results after microfracture are poor,² with studies showing poor outcomes after 48 months.³

Cartilage Allograft Matrix (CAM) is a solution which produces hyaline-like cartilage in articulating joint spaces when used with the microfracture technique in treating small chondral lesions. Current practices promote using the microfracture technique to address cartilage defects which leads to the buildup of fibrocartilage in the joint space. In using a cartilage allograft to supplement the microfracture procedure, the cartilage particles interact with the marrow infiltration in the defect space from the microfracture. This marrow infiltration brings the cells necessary to interact with the cartilage allograft to produce hyaline-like cartilage in the defect space.

CartiMax^® Viable Cartilage Allograft from MTF Biologics treats cartilage lesions in the knee and other joint spaces. It combines the clinical benefits of live, viable cartilage cells with putty-like handling properties designed to easily fill defects of different shapes and sizes.