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| Microfracture |
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| To further attempt to maintain the walls of these lesions, the body can be stimulated to produce repair tissue. This repair tissue develops from cells brought to the area with blood deep to the bone underneath the cartilage. These cells enter through small holes made through the bone by using a small “ice” pick to create microfractures. |
| This can be thought of as repairing “potholes” in a road, to lessen the problem of the hole spreading to involve the whole road. The “potholes” fill in with a form of scar cartilage, which has biomechanical properties inferior to normal cartilage. It may not last as long as a “normal road”, but these techniques are successful in eliminating symptoms in many patients. |
