Cartilage Regeneration

Cartilage damage does not heal reliably on its own. Left untreated, defects can worsen and lead to early-onset arthritis. Mr Paul Jermin performs many cartilage regenerative procedures each year and has been involved at national level in commissioning policies for osteochondral allografts and focal knee resurfacing. He also chairs a monthly national complex cartilage meeting drawing specialists from across the UK.

Procedures available include:

• ACI / MACI – cell-based techniques that grow new cartilage tissue. These are considered the gold standard for treating cartilage defects above a certain size. Oswestry has one of the largest series of people treated with this method in the world and the team are world leaders in research in this field.
• Osteochondral allograft transplantation – transplants healthy cartilage and bone from a donor to replace a larger defect. Again, this is considered ‘gold standard’ for treating cartilage problems that involve the underlying bone. Paul was involved in the national commissioning document that allowed us to perform these in the UK.
• Cartiheal – Paul is the first person in the UK to perform this novel procedure involving insertion of a coral based plug. The early evidence for this is excellent but we are still looking to increase our understanding of this novel procedure.
• Focal knee resurfacing – replaces a localised area with a metal implant

The right approach depends on the size, location, and cause of the damage, alongside your age, activity level, and goals.

• All regenerative techniques offered (transplant, resurfacing, ACI/MACI etc)