Benefits and risks

Information for the public

When NICE looked at the evidence, it decided that there was not enough evidence about how well the procedure works. The 9 studies that NICE looked at involved a total of 369 patients.

The benefits were similar to those seen with microfracture used alone (without a scaffold patch). Generally, they showed the following benefits:

an improvement in how the knee works (knee function) and symptoms (pain, stiffness)
an increase in the amount of activity people were able to do
an improvement in patients' own rating of their overall health and satisfaction
evidence of cartilage repair seen on MRI.

The studies showed that the risks included:

a haematoma (bruise) in 1 patient
bleeding in or swelling of the knee
a blood clot in 1 patient
knee stiffness in about 23% of patients
surgery had to be repeated in 10% of patients because of pain and the knee not working correctly
swelling after a fall in 1 patient.

NICE was also told about some other possible risks: changes in the repair tissue and the need for surgery to remove it.

If you want to know more about the studies, see the guidance. Ask your health professional to explain anything you don't understand.