BIOMECHANICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ARTICULAR CARTILAGE VARY BETWEEN DIFFERENT SITES WITHIN THE SAME JOINT

Purpose: One of the most common regenerative surgical treatments for osteochondral defects is osteochondral autologous transplantation (mosaicplasty). Osteochondral plugs are transferred from non-weightbearing areas to the sites to be treated, commonly weightbearing areas. In these procedures the topographical differences in biomechanical and biochemical characteristics of articular cartilage within the same joint are not taken into account. Nevertheless, matching of structural and mechanical characteristics between the harvest and the recipient site can be assumed to influence long-term outcomes in the repair of osteochondral defects.