Prospective Observational Study of a Non-Arthroscopic Autologous Cartilage Micrografting Technology for Knee Osteoarthritis.

Autologous micrografting technology (AMT) involves the use of autologous micrografts to stimulate/enhance the repair of damaged tissue. This study assessed the efficacy and safety of the AMT procedure in patients with early stages of knee osteoarthritis. Briefly, the AMT procedure involved extraction of auricular cartilage, disaggregation using the Rigeneracons SRT in 4.0 mL of saline solution, and injection of the disaggregated micrografts into the external femorotibial compartment area of the affected knee. Ten patients (4 men, 6 women; age range: 37-84 years) were included in the study. In all patients, there was a steady improvement in knee instability, pain, swelling, mechanical locking, stair climbing, and squatting at 1- and 6-months post-procedure. Improvement in mobility was observed as early as 3 weeks post-procedure in 2 patients. Significant improvements were seen in mean scores of all five subscales of Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS [KOOS symptoms, KOOS pain, KOOS ADL, KOOS sport and recreation, and KOOS quality-of-life]) between pre-procedure and 1- and 6-months post-procedure (all ≤ 0.05). Autologous auricular cartilage micrografts obtained by AMT procedure (using Rigenera technology) is an effective and safe protocol in the treatment of early stage knee osteoarthritis. These encouraging findings need to be validated in a larger patient population and in a randomized clinical trial (RCT).