Repair of Osteochondral Defects in the Rabbit Knee with Goretex™ (Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene)

Abstract

In 28 knee joints in 14 rabbits 4 mm circular osteochondral defects were created in each medial femoral condyle. In 24 of the knee joints 4 mm Gore-Tex^TM (E-PTFE) patches were glued into the defects with fibrin glue. Four joints were left without implants and served as controls. In 16 joints the membrane showed good macroscopic incorporation into the joint surface. In four joints the E-PTFE patches were lying loose. In the controls the defects were covered by thin irregular layers of reparative tissue. On histological examination at 12 weeks, cells were seen proliferating through the membrane and overlying its joint facing surface with the morphological appearance of the outer layers of the normal articular surface. We conclude that Gore-Tex^TM might be of potential value in restoring the architecture of a damaged articular surface.

Key Words:

• cartilage repair
• knee joint
• E-PTFE
• Gore-Tex^TM
• cell ingrowth
• osteochondral defect