Second-look arthroscopic observations after radiofrequency treatment of partial thickness articular cartilage defects in human knees: report of four cases

Partial thickness articular cartilage defects in the knee are commonly encountered clinical problems. Recently, use of radiofrequency-based devices for performing arthroscopic chondroplasty has gained popularity. However, published experimental studies using different methods for evaluating the histologic effects of radiofrequency-chondroplasty on surrounding cartilage offer contradictory results. To date, few clinical findings after radiofrequency-based chondroplasty have been reported. We present four patients where follow-up arthroscopy documented partial thickness articular defects treated previously with radiofrequency-based chondroplasty to be completely filled with stable repair tissue. No attempt was made to stimulate cartilage regeneration (ie, abrasion or microfracture) in any of these cases.