Membrane scaffolds for matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation in the knee: a systematic review

Introduction: Chondral defects of the knee are common and their management is challenging.

Source of data: Current scientific literature published in PubMed, Google scholar, Embase and Scopus.

Areas of agreement: Membrane-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation (mACI) has been used to manage chondral defects of the knee.

Areas of controversy: Hyaluronic acid membrane provides better outcomes than a collagenic membrane for mACI in the knee at midterm follow-up is controversial.

Growing points: To investigate whether hyaluronic acid membrane may provide comparable clinical outcomes than collagenic membranes for mACI in focal defects of the knee.

Areas timely for developing research: Hyaluronic acid membrane yields a lower rate of failures and revision surgeries for mACI in the management of focal articular cartilage defects of the knee compared with collagenic scaffolds at midterm follow-up. No difference was found in patient reported outcome measures (PROMs). Further comparative studies are required to validate these results in a clinical setting.