Knee Cartilage Repair

Jayhawc

Squid
Rotorburners
I don’t generally come to forums for medical advice but I am at wits end and there seems to be some learned peeps in here.

Situation is this, I snapped my ACL around 16 months ago and had to put off the surgery for various reasons. The stack that caused ACL to pop also ground away a chunk of cartilage, not a complete loss but significant. I am going in for the ACL reco (hamstring graft) in a couple of months and surgeon is suggesting I get the cartilage fixed using something called BST Cargel. I have been riding on the knee for about 16 months (with a brace), without any issue or pain.

I’m fine with the ACL reco part, happy to go down the hamstring graft option over the other options, the surgeon is reputable, but this BST Cargel stuff is very new, so new I can’t find anyone who has real world experience with it. I realise my Cartilage is in a bad way but its not completely worn through and I am nervous about more problems than it solves. The procedure looks like it cuts away at existing bone and then inject what is for all intents and purposes a two part polymer. Kind of like microfracture but with better results, not that microfracture gives great results anyway.

I’ve spoken to my physio, he has heard of it but no experience, GP hasn’t even heard of it.

Best I can find on DR Google are the academic papers, but they compare to alternate repair techniques and put me to sleep before I can finish the paper.

So does anyone out there know anything about this stuff? Or has anyone had microfracture treatment to repair cartilage loss in the knee?
 
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