Rehabilitation

With CARTICEL, rehabilitation begins within hours after surgery. Every patient and injury is different, so everyone progresses through rehabilitation at a different pace. However, for all patients, rehabilitation is vital to a successful outcome with CARTICEL.

Remember, all surgical procedures have recovery time involved. Following your rehabilitation protocol is an investment in yourself and your future ability. No matter what kind of rehabilitation your doctor prescribes for you, it’s important to follow it exactly.

Post-Surgery Follow-up

Most surgeons will require routine follow-up visits, generally at 2, 4, and/or 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months.

Leg Brace

Your doctor may recommend you wear a leg brace for the first two to four weeks—even while you sleep. Bracing your leg protects it from movements that might injure your knee, including twisting and turning. You should take it off only when you are using the CPM (continuous passive motion) machine or during other physical therapy.

Physical Therapy

Your doctor will send you home with specific physical therapy exercises, lists of dos and don’ts, and crutches. You may also receive a CPM machine, which helps restore motion to your knee.

Pain Management

The first week after surgery is usually the most uncomfortable; your doctor will discuss your individual pain management with you in more detail. After the first week, medication may be only necessary before physical therapy exercises and at bedtime.

Normal Activity

While the length of your recovery depends on many factors, most patients can perform normal activities like walking or driving relatively quickly. How soon you can return to work or other activities depends on how much stress those activities place on your healing knee. Patients may return to various sport activities as progression in rehabilitation and cartilage healing allows.

Here are some general guidelines:

  • Off crutches by 8-9 week
  • Walk 1 to 2 miles or bike for 30 minutes by 12 weeks.
  • Low impact sports (swimming, skating, in-line skating and cycling) at 6 months
  • Higher-impact sports (jogging, running, aerobics) at 8-9 months
  • High-impact sports (tennis, basketball, football, baseball) at 12-18 months

Individual results may vary. Many patients are able to participate in sports with some limitations.

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Indications and Usage

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).