Cell therapy is becoming increasingly common in the treatment of knee cartilage problems. Cellular treatments are applied to tissues that do not have the ability to regenerate themselves. The cartilage cell is one of them. Cartilage cannot compensate for tissue loss by multiplying in its location. However, the cell sample can be activated and reproduced outside. And it is transported to the problematic area.
Cartilage transplant; Cells taken from the patient’s cartilage are first separated. Intact cells are selected under a microscope after filtration and centrifugation. It is then reproduced in suitable nutrients. This reproduction is then continued by providing a certain distribution on a skeleton called the matrix. When the appropriate volume is obtained, the tissue is ready for transplantation. The area where the tissue will be transferred is prepared adjacent to healthy cells, well-blooded and easy to detect. Dead cells in the patient’s knee are cleaned and opened up to the intact tissue and blood supply is provided.
If the tissue is a person’s own cell, it functions as long as it maintains its vitality without going through the remodeling process. And it can begin reproducing the cartilage matrix within 24-72 hours. The tissue takes 3-12 weeks to attach. At the end of 2 years, the tissue skeleton is completely renewed and its continuity with other neighboring cells is ensured. The situation is very different in foreign cells. If the cell is rejected, within 72 hours, the cells are enveloped and killed, leaving only the matrix. And they leave their places to cells that mimic cartilage called fibrocytes.