Fresh osteochondral allografts in the knee : only a salvage procedure?

The role of fresh allogeneic osteochondral allograft transplantation (OCA) in the cartilage repair algorithm has been long debated and this procedure is primarily considered as a salvage procedure, to be used when other, simple, techniques have failed. Gracitelli et al. in a retrospective comparison of patients who received OCA as primary treatment or as a salvage procedure, demonstrates that the outcome of this procedure is minimally influenced by a previous failed treatment and that OCA represents an effective solution for both primary and revision surgery of chondral and osteochondral lesions of the knee. In particular, optimal indications for OCA seem to be revision of previously failed bone marrow stimulation techniques with an impaired subchondral bone plate and primary treatment of large osteochondral defects.