title: Functional recovery of the donor knee after autologous osteochondral transplantation for capitellar osteochondritis dissecans.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Osteochondral autograft transplantation has been advocated to treat severe osteochondritis dissecans of the humeral capitellum in throwing athletes to reproduce the normal hyaline cartilage and achieve long-term elbow function. Although some authors have reported good outcomes, the current authors are concerned about functional recovery of the donor knee after osteochondral grafts have been harvested.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present prospective study analyzed functional recovery of the donor knee after osteochondral graft harvest.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case series; Level of evidence, 4.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve male patients (average age at surgery, 14.4 years) had severe osteochondritis dissecans of the humeral capitellum treated with osteochondral autograft transplantation from the contralateral knee joint. The donor knee of each patient was assessed for pain (visual analog scale), joint effusion, Lysholm score, radiographic findings, and muscle strength (60 and 180 deg/sec).
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 3 months after surgery, 10 patients were pain-free (visual analog scale score, 0); none had knee joint effusion; and 10 gained 100 points in the Lysholm score. However, muscle power (60 deg/sec) of the knee extensor revealed 8 patients with reduced muscle strength at 3 months compared with the preoperative level, although 11 patients reached preoperative knee extensor muscle strength at 12 months. Radiographic findings at 24 months showed that none of the patients had knee osteoarthritis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A time lag was evident in recovery between postoperative symptoms and muscle power at 3 months. However, harvesting osteochondral grafts did not exert adverse effects on donor knee function in young athletes at 2 years after undergoing osteochondral autograft transplantation for capitellar osteochondritis dissecans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Mie, Japan. meiten@clin.medic.mie-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Akinobu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: Akimasa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Aki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Ko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sudo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D056352:Athletes; D016025:Bone Transplantation; D002648:Child; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology; D010008:Osteochondritis Dissecans / Q000601:surgery*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013997:Time Factors; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous