title: Repairing Osteochondral Defects of Critical Size Using Multiple Costal Grafts: An Experimental Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the feasibility of repairing osteochondral defects of critical size by performing mosaicplasty using multiple sliced costal cartilage grafts, which enables repair of extensively injured knees using grafts from a single rib.
  
  
  METHODS
  Critical osteochondral defects were prepared on the femoral groove of skeletally mature Japanese white rabbits. Costal cartilage grafts from a single rib were harvested and sliced into multiple segments (approximately 3-5 mm in length). The defects were left untreated or repaired by performing mosaicplasty using costal cartilage grafts (with or without a longitudinal cut along the middle). At 4 and 12 weeks after transplantation, International Cartilage Repair Society macroscopic and histological grading was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The macroscopic score and visual histological score were significantly higher in the repaired groups than in the untreated group at 4 and 12 weeks after surgery. Histological continuous integration between grafted costal cartilage and host bone was observed in both repaired groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that costal cartilage might be a useful alternative source for chondral grafting. We were able to repair large osteochondral defects by performing mosaicplasty using multiple sliced costal cartilage grafts from a single rib.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Sino-Russian Institute of Hard Tissue Development and Regeneration, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China ; Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: Dajiang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: Norihiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sugita
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Sino-Russian Institute of Hard Tissue Development and Regeneration, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moriguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakata
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Myoui
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
keywords: articular cartilage; costal graft; mosaicplasty; osteochondral defect; rabbit