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Thursday, October 7, 2010, 10:20-10:50Session B3: Cartilage Repair/RegenerationNew Biodegradable and Biocompatible Synthetic Scaffold for MeniscalRegeneration: Preliminary Clinical ExperienceINTRODUCTION*Silvio Patella - Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli - Bologna, ItalyElizaveta Kon - Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute - Bologna, ItalyAlessandro Di Martino - - Napoli,Giuseppe Filardo - Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute - Bologna, ItalyStefano Zaffagnini - - Bologna,Luca D'Orazio - Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute - Bologna, ItalyBerardo Di Matteo - Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute - Bologna, ItalyMaurilio Marcacci - - Bologna,*Email: silviopatella@hotmail.comThe menisci play a fundamental biomechanical role in the knee and also help in the maintainingof the articular homeostasis; thus, either a lesion or the complete absence of the menisci caninvalidate the physiological function of the knee causing important damages, even at long term.Unfortunately, meniscal tears are often found during the ordinary orthopaedic practice while theregenerative potential of this kind of tissue is very low and limited to its peripheral-vascularizedpart; this is why the majority of these common arthroscopic findings are not reparable and oftenthe surgeon is almost forced to perform a partial, subtotal or even total meniscectomy,regardless of the well-known consequences of this kind of surgery.MATERIALS AND METHODSRecently a porous, biodegradable scaffold made of an aliphatic polyurethane (Actifit,OrteqLtd) has been developed for the arthroscopic treatment of partial and irreparable meniscal tears;thanks to its particular structure, this scaffold facilitates the regeneration of the removedmeniscal part, preventing the potential cartilage damage due to its complete or partial lack.We performed a prospective clinical study on 17 patients affected by a massive loss of meniscalsubstance either medial or lateral associated with intraarticular or global knee pain and/orswelling.We analyzed the patient both clinically and by using the International Knee DocumentCommittee’s (IKDC) Subjective and Objective Knee Evaluation Form. We also assessed thesport activity resumption by comparing the Tegner score at the time of the very first visit withthe presurgery and prelesional ones. Finally, we also organized a control MRI at 6 and 12months after surgery.DISCUSSIONfile:///E|/ISTA2010-Abstracts.htm[12/7/2011 3:15:47 PM]