title: The 50 Most Cited Articles in Orthopedic Cartilage Surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the 50 most cited articles in orthopedic cartilage surgery and their characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic review of the Science Citation Index Expanded was performed for articles related to cartilage surgery published in the 66 journals under the category "Orthopedics." The 50 most cited articles were determined, and the following characteristics were analyzed for each article: authors, journal and year of publication, number of citations, geographic origin, article type (basic science or clinical), article subtype by study design, and level of evidence. Citation density (total number of citations/years since publication) was also computed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 50 most cited articles ranged from 989 to 172 citations, with citation density ranging from 71.5 to 4.1. The publication years spanned from 1968 to 2008, with the 2000s accounting for half (25) of the articles and the highest mean citation density (14.6). The 50 most cited articles were published in 11 journals. The majority of the articles (29) were clinical, with level IV representing the most common level of evidence (10). The remaining basic science articles were most commonly animal in vivo studies (14). Stronger level of evidence was correlated with overall number of citations (P = 0.044), citation density (P < 0.001), and year of publication (P = 0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Articles with stronger levels of evidence are more highly cited, with an increasing trend as evidence-based practice has been emphasized. This article list provides clinicians, researchers, and trainees with a group of "citation classics" in orthopedic cartilage surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Nathan J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Siesener
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: McAllister
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Riley J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Seth L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Sherman
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kristofer J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Jones
keywords: cartilage; citations; classic papers; references