Reference center in the treatment of articular cartilage lesions using the autologous chondrocyte implant technique
Using a joint with cartilage defects continuously carries with it the expansion of this injury and the onset of OA, which ultimately means having a joint implant. The treatment of cartilage lesions such as osteochondritis and chondropathies has become one of the main challenges of modern trauma. Classical techniques such as debridement, microfracture or micro-drilling allow surgeons to treat small- to medium-sized lesions which are mainly asymptomatic. However, when injuries are at a latter stage, restoration techniques are more commonly applied so that the defect area is covered by cartilaginous tissue. Mosaicoplasty, autologous chondrocyte implant and allograft with cadaver’s cartilage are the most important alternative techniques.
Of these last three techniques, the only one which truly re-generates identical tissue is the autologous chondrocyte implant (ICC). It is a Regenerative Medicine therapy which we have been using since 1996 and of which we have performed over 550 cases, including knees, ankles and hips; although knees represent the highest number of cases.
Clínica CEMTRO carries out research in this field of trauma, becoming a world reference. Out team of biologists and trauma specialists, led by Dr. Pedro Guillén and Dr. Isabel Guillén, has developed a new technique for implanting autologous chondrocytes and even established a new White Room (special room for therapeutic cell cultures -The only one in Spain of these characteristics) where cells collected by surgeons from all over Spain may be cultured and sent back to their hospitals where a cartilage implant will be made.
This team also supervises the lines of research followed in the hospital regarding regeneration and cell reprogramming, coordinating all specialized units with the aim of deciding which is the best treatment for shoulders, hips, knees, wrists or ankles.
Dra. Isabel Guillén Vicente
Dra. Marta Guillén Vicente
Dr. Santiago Aráuz de Robles
Dr. Ramón Navarro Mont (Tobillo)
Dra. Lucía Áboli Martínez
All the traumatologists
ICC TECHNIQUE
PRE-ICC
Autologous Chondrocyte Implant (ICC), the next step in the evolution of MACI, has become the great alternative to traditional methods of cartilage repair.
The technique places autologous chondrocytes (from the patients themselves) onto a collagen membrane and then covers the defect area on the affected joint, duplicating original tissue.
This technique has proven to be effective where other techniques rarely succeed (small- and medium-sized injuries, diffuse cartilage lesions…) or when other techniques have failed. Its use in knees and ankles has quickly become popular and is being tested on other joints with more difficult access such as shoulder and hip. Chondrocyte implants are THE alternative for cartilage injuries in joints.
Clínica CEMTRO is the only Spanish hospital and one of only two European centres to generate chondrocyte cultures, making it a reference hospital for countries like USA and Latin America.
