Understanding the TREATMENT

What Is the Cartiform Allograft?

Cartiform is a viable, flexible osteochondral allograft, or donor graft, designed to help repair damaged cartilage. It is a trusted option that is available for your surgeon to use during your procedure to replace damaged bone and cartilage in smaller, shallower defects.

Benefits of the TREATMENT

Why Do Patients and Surgeons Choose the Cartiform Allograft?

Flexible Coverage

For cartilage defects where clean borders are difficult to create due to the location or contour of your knee

Customizable Fit

Customizable to fit irregular or hard‑to‑treat defects the AutoCart™ technique cannot—fitted to your knee in one procedure

Biologic Healing

May be mixed with biologics to help promote and support healing

Viable

Cryopreserved and viable, meaning it contains healthy, living cells to repair damaged cartilage and bone

the TREATMENT

How Does the Cartiform Technique Work?

The Cartiform allograft technique is a joint‑preserving option for patients with cartilage lesions that have minimal damage to the underlying bone. Cartiform allografts are designed to replace damaged joint cartilage. They have pores that help the graft fit irregularly shaped or sized cartilage and allow healing cells from the Cartiform graft to migrate into the repaired area.

Step 1

Your surgeon will carefully prepare the damaged area and may use a small drill to create tiny holes that create an environment for the allograft to integrate (a process called microfracture).

Step 2

Your surgeon may trim the Cartiform allograft to ensure a perfect fit for your defect.

Step 3

Your surgeon will use implants to fix the graft securely in place and provide stability while it incorporates with the surrounding tissue. The graft’s flexibility and small holes allow it to adapt to the natural contours of your knee.

Step 4

Your surgeon may add additional biologic substances, made from your own blood, to the Cartiform allograft to allow it to heal and become part of your cartilage.

Conservative Care

Can My Cartilage Defect Be Treated Without Surgery?

Your surgeon may discuss nonoperative treatments if your symptoms aren’t impacting your life. If you begin experiencing symptoms, your doctor might recommend surgery.
Conservative treatments you may try before surgery include:

Physical therapy

Over-the-counter
anti-inflammatory medication

A brace to help take the weight off your knee

Limits to particular activities

Frequently Asked Questions

What does recovery look like?

expand_more

While every patient's needs are different, your doctor may recommend crutches and/or a brace, limited range of motion, and physical therapy tailored to your specific activities and goals.

Does this treat arthritic conditions?

expand_more

The Cartiform allograft is meant to treat small to large contained and uncontained lesions with minimal subchondral bone damage. The allograft helps replace and restore cartilage at the site of a defect. Cartiform allografts are not used to treat arthritis.

‍

There are several options available if you have osteoarthritis impacting large areas of the cartilage in your knee, including partial or total knee replacement (called arthroplasty) and/or correction of the alignment of your knee (called an osteotomy).¹

Do these procedures prevent joint replacement?

expand_more

Fixing damaged cartilage early can help prevent further injury, painful arthritis, and the need for a total joint replacement later in life.

‍

While these procedures are designed to repair damaged cartilage and help protect your joint, they may not eliminate the possibility of needing a joint replacement later on, and they are not designed to do so. Everyone’s body heals differently, so it is important to talk with your doctor about your specific goals and long-term treatment plan.

Where do allografts come from?

expand_more

Cartilage and bone allografts like those used in the Cartiform allograft come from donated human tissue. Tissue banks carefully screen and test all donated tissue for infectious diseases and determine whether it is suitable for transplantation.

Note: Cartiform is a registered trademark of Osiris Therapeutics, Inc.