Repair of symptomatic cartilage lesions of the knee: the place of autologous chondrocyte implantation.

An increasing number of patients with cartilage defects of the knee are being treated with autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI). To date, no clear guidelines exist for the use and indications of this technique. The BVOT and SOBCOT have established a working group to review the clinical results and the cost-effectiveness of the various treatment modalities and particularly of ACI. This group has formulated recommendations and presents a treatment algorithm based on an in-depth review of recent European and American literature, on peer-reviewed opinions of leading investigators in the field and on a comparative analysis of the clinical results and health-economic aspects of current cartilage repair techniques.