Outcome of untreated traumatic articular cartilage defects of the knee: a natural history study.

Abstract

While statistical analysis revealed a difference in subjective scores between the defect and control groups, an average of 93 points for the patients with a lateral defect and 94 points for those with a medial defect indicates that most patients have very few symptoms. This study provides a baseline of information that can be used to compare the results of procedures designed to treat articular cartilage defects.