Email this page

About CARTICEL

CARTICEL is a biologic product used to repair articular cartilage injuries of the knee in adults who have not responded to a prior arthroscopic or other surgical repair procedure. It uses your body's own cultured cells to form new hyaline-like cartilage in your knee following a surgical procedure called autologous chrondrocyte implantation (ACI). CARTICEL is the name of the cells that are grown from the samples (or biopsy) taken from your knee. When implanted into a knee cartilage injury, these cells can form new hyaline-like cartilage.

CARTICEL is the first biologic product to repair articular cartilage injuries in the knee. In 1997, it became the only FDA-approved autologous cultured chondrocyte product on the market in the United States. CARTICEL is a product of Genzyme, a company with more than a decade of experience in developing and manufacturing autologous cell therapy products.

Was this content useful to you?:

YesNo

Indication

Carticel® (autologous cultured chondrocytes) is an autologous cellular product indicated for the repair of symptomatic cartilage defects of the femoral condyle (medial, lateral or trochlea), caused by acute or repetitive trauma, in patients who have had an inadequate response to a prior arthroscopic or other surgical repair procedure (e.g., debridement, microfracture, drilling/abrasion arthroplasty, or osteochondral allograft/autograft).

CARTICEL should only be used in conjunction with debridement, placement of a periosteal flap and rehabilitation. The independent contributions of the autologous cultured chondrocytes and other components of the therapy to outcome are unknown.

CARTICEL is not indicated for the treatment of cartilage damage associated with generalized osteoarthritis.

CARTICEL is not recommended for patients with total meniscectomy unless surgically reconstructed prior to or concurrent with CARTICEL implantation.

Important Safety Information

CARTICEL should not be used in patients with a known history of hypersensitivity to gentamicin, other aminoglycosides or materials of bovine origin.

It should not be used in patients who have previously had cancer in the bones, cartilage, fat or muscle of the treated limb.

Pre-existing conditions, including meniscal tears, joint instability, or malalignment should be assessed and treated prior to or concurrent with CARTICEL implantation.

CARTICEL is not routinely tested for transmissible infectious diseases and may transmit disease to the healthcare provider handling CARTICEL.

Use of CARTICEL in children, patients over age 65, or in joints other than the knee has not yet been assessed.

The occurrence of subsequent surgical procedures (SSPs), primarily arthroscopy, following CARTICEL implantation is common. In the Study of the Treatment of Articular Repair (STAR), forty-nine percent (49%) of patients underwent an SSP on the treated knee, irrespective of their relationship to CARTICEL, during the 4-year follow up. The most common serious adverse events (≥5% of patients), derived from STAR, include arthrofibrosis/joint adhesions, graft overgrowth, chondromalacia or chondrosis, cartilage injury, graft complication, meniscal lesion, graft delamination, and osteoarthritis.

For more information on CARTICEL, please see the Package Insert (PDF).

Ready to proceed with CARTICEL? You’re already on the right path.

I'm Ready

Kevin Harbison

Learn More

Kevin was living his lifelong dream, playing football for the Naval Academy and training to become a military officer. Then, in one short moment, his life changed.

See Kevin in action

Have Questions?

Check out our FAQs for answers—or contact a Carticel Care^® Coordinator at 800-453-6948, Option #2, for more detailed information.

Email a question

Need Help with Knee Vocabulary?

Our interactive knee glossary can help you.