Early Encouraging Results of a Non-Arthroscopic Autologous Cartilage Micrografting Technology for Knee Osteoarthritis

The study evaluated the efficacy and safety of autologous micrografting technology (AMT®) for treating early-stage knee osteoarthritis in 10 patients (4 men, 6 women; ages 37-84). The procedure involved extracting auricular cartilage, disaggregating it, and injecting the micrografts into the affected knee. All patients showed steady improvements in knee instability, pain, swelling, mechanical locking, stair climbing, and squatting at 1 and 6 months post-procedure, with some improvements noted as early as 3 weeks. Significant improvements were observed in all five subscales of the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) between pre-procedure and 1 and 6 months post-procedure (all p≤0.05). The findings suggest that AMT® is an effective and safe treatment for early-stage knee osteoarthritis, though larger studies are needed for validation.