Chondral injuries of the knee are lesions of the articular cartilage of the knee joint. (The colloquial expression “cartilage damage” might also include meniscal tears, which is an altogether separate category of disease.) Chondral injuries include both single focal defects and diffuse damage more characteristic of degenerative joint disease. Acute focal defects can accompany injuries such as an ACL tear and patellar dislocation. Articular cartilage damage can be seen with or without changes in the underlying bone. When bone pathology is absent, repair of the surface cartilage may be very helpful clinically, whereas when bone changes are present, the cartilage damage is merely the surface manifestation of the disease, and treating it alone is often futile.
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