Why Move Forward with Knee Cartilage Repair After Arthroscopy Skip to content

Why Move Forward with Knee Cartilage Repair After Arthroscopy

Photos of MACI patient Gabe throughout his treatment journey, including him sitting in a hospital bed, on crutches and stretching his knee with his child.

Why Do Patients Sometimes Feel Relief After an Arthroscopy?

An arthroscopy is a common surgical procedure that allows your doctor to examine the knee joint through a small camera, called an arthroscope, and simultaneously perform minor repairs. These arthroscopic repairs may provide temporary relief, but it’s typically not a long-lasting solution and knee pain may return.

 

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Why Do Patients Move Forward With MACI Surgery?

When knee cartilage is damaged—from an injury or daily wear and tear—it doesn’t heal on its own. This means your cartilage injury could get worse over time, leaving you with more pain and limiting your physical activity.

When pain returns post-arthroscopy, many patients in search of lasting improvements in knee pain and function move forward with MACI knee cartilage repair surgery.

 

How MACI Patient Gabe Found Knee Pain Relief After Arthroscopy

Take Gabe’s* story—Gabe’s knee pain hindered his active lifestyle for many years. Early in his treatment journey, he had two arthroscopic procedures and experienced temporary relief, but the pain came back. Gabe knew he needed to act, and after speaking with his doctor, he pursued the MACI knee cartilage repair procedure.

Learn more about Gabe’s knee cartilage repair journey in the video below:

Are you considering making your move? Click to learn more about how MACI works.

 

Please see below for full indication and ISI. Blog posts are intended to provide educational information only and do not constitute medical advice. Always talk to your doctor with any questions.

*Gabe is a MACI patient and has been trained and compensated for his time by Vericel.

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Answer some quick questions to determine your level of pain and to help decide if MACI may be your next step.

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Indication and Important Safety Information

Important Safety Information

MACI should not be used if you:

  • are allergic to antibiotics such as gentamicin, or materials that come from cow, pig, or ox;
  • have severe osteoarthritis of the knee, other severe inflammatory conditions, infections or inflammation in the bone joint and other surrounding tissue, or blood clotting conditions;
  • have had knee surgery in the past 6 months, not including surgery for obtaining a cartilage biopsy or a surgical procedure to prepare your knee for a MACI implant;
  • or cannot follow a doctor-prescribed rehabilitation program after your surgery

Consult your doctor if you have cancer in the area of the cartilage biopsy or implant as the safety of MACI is not known in those cases.

Conditions that existed before your surgery, including meniscus tears, joint or ligament instability, or alignment problems should be evaluated and treated before or at the same time as the MACI implant.

MACI is not recommended if you are pregnant.

MACI has not been studied in patients younger than 18 or over 55 years of age.

Common side effects include joint pain, tendonitis, back pain, joint swelling, and joint effusion.

More serious side effects include joint pain, cartilage or meniscus injury, treatment failure, and osteoarthritis.

Please see Full Prescribing Information for more information.

Indication

MACI® is made up of your own (autologous) cells that are expanded and placed onto a film that is implanted into the area of the cartilage damage and absorbed back into your own tissue.

MACI® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is made up of your own (autologous) cells that are expanded and placed onto a film that is implanted into the area of the cartilage damage and absorbed back into your own tissue.

MACI is used for the repair of symptomatic cartilage damage of the adult knee.

The amount of MACI applied depends on the size of the cartilage damage. The MACI film is trimmed by your surgeon to match the size and shape of the damage, to ensure the damaged area is completely covered.

Limitations of Use

It is not known whether MACI is effective in joints other than the knee.

It is not known whether MACI is safe or effective in patients over the age of 55 years.