What is ACI?

ACI (Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation) is a procedure that provides you and your doctor an option to repair articular cartilage injuries by implanting your own (“Autologous”) cultured cartilage cells (Chondrocytes) in damaged areas of your knee. These autologous cultured chondrocytes are called Carticel.

Carticel has demonstrated important benefits in patients with damaged articular cartilage. Carticel is shown to work well for the repair of symptomatic defects in the cartilage of the joint surface, caused by acute or repetitive trauma, in patients who have had an inadequate response to prior arthroscopic or other surgical repair procedures. Carticel is not recommended for the treatment of cartilage damage associated with osteoarthritis.

ACI allows doctors, for the first time, to repair injury to the joint surface back to nearly the original Hyaline Cartilage. In the initial operation, a few thousand cells are harvested from the non-weight bearing area of the joint. They are then grown under strict conditions and sterile procedures. In a second operation, a piece of the lining of the bone or another transplantable biologic material is positioned to cover the defect. The cells are then implanted under this lid and into the closed space that was created.