Learning about your knee condition

The surface of your knee joint is covered in articular cartilage. When you injure articular cartilage, you may experience pain or swelling—and you may have difficulty managing the simplest daily activities, such as climbing stairs.

Articular cartilage cannot heal on its own; worse, once the surface is damaged, the injury can possibly continue to slowly deteriorate. Small cartilage injuries can progress to larger cartilage injuries, and, if left untreated, may lead to a more serious problem, such as osteoarthritis (OA). OA, the most common form of arthritis—and the most common joint disease—can greatly limit your activity.

Click to show Anatomy of the Knee

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Kevin Harbison

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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.

Have Questions?

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

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How Your Knee Works

Explore our interactive knee anatomy area to know more. 

Important Safety Information

CARTICEL is for autologous use and is 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. It is not indicated for the treatment of cartilage damage associated with generalized osteoarthritis. It is not recommended for patients whose knee meniscus has been surgically removed unless the patient has undergone surgical reconstruction prior to or concurrent with CARTICEL implantation.

Pre-existing conditions including meniscal tears, joint instability or malalignment of the joint should be corrected prior to or concurrent with CARTICEL implantation. It should not be used in patients with a known history of hypersensitivity to gentamicin, other aminoglycosides or materials of bovine origin. CARTICEL is not routinely tested for transmissible infectious diseases and may transmit disease to the healthcare provider handling CARTICEL. In addition, it should not be used in patients who have previously had cancer in the bones, cartilage, fat or muscle of the treated limb. Use 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).