title: Surgical treatment for early osteoarthritis. Part II: allografts and concurrent procedures.
abstract: Young patients with early osteoarthritis (OA) represent a challenging population due to a combination of high functional demands and limited treatment options. Conservative measures such as injection and physical therapy can provide short-term pain relief but are only palliative in nature. Joint replacement, a successful procedure in the older population, is controversial in younger patients, who are less satisfied and experience higher failure rates. Therefore, while traditionally not indicated for the treatment of OA, cartilage repair has become a focus of increased interest due to its potential to provide pain relief and alter the progression of degenerative disease, with the hope of delaying or obviating the need for joint replacement. The field of cartilage repair is seeing the rapid development of new technologies that promise greater ease of application, less demanding rehabilitation and better outcomes. Concurrent procedures such as meniscal transplantation and osteotomy, however, remain of crucial importance to provide a normalized biomechanical environment for these new technologies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Systematic review, Level II.
authors: Cartilage Repair Center, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. agomoll@yahoo.com
authors: A H
authors: AH
authors: Gomoll
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Filardo
authors: F K
authors: FK
authors: Almqvist
authors: W D
authors: WD
authors: Bugbee
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Jelic
authors: J C
authors: JC
authors: Monllau
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Puddu
authors: W G
authors: WG
authors: Rodkey
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Verdonk
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Verdonk
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Zaffagnini
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Marcacci
mesh_terms: D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000601:surgery*; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000601:surgery*; D010027:Osteotomy; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome