[Role of the thickness of the graft in osteocartilaginous autotransplantation in the rabbit knee].

This experimental study is complementary to the clinical series of cartilaginous autografts in the knee for medial condylar necrosis. The aim was to determine the viability of the articular cartilage in a series of grafts with variable thickness of the underlying spongy bone. The study was done on 36 adult rabbits and the cartilage was studied by biochemical, histochemical and ultrastructural methods. The results are conclusive. The earliest abnormal signs in the first few weeks affect the thinnest grafts of 4 mm whereas the 12 mm thickness grafts hardly show any lesions. It is therefore possible to use large autogenic grafts for osteocartilaginous defects provided the proportion between the area of the articular surface and the underlying spongy bone of the graft is at least 1/4. Under these circumstances, cartilaginous deterioration will be avoided and reduce long term degeneration.