Cartilage regeneration in osteoarthritic knees treated with distal femoral osteotomy and intra-lesional implantation of allogenic human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells: A report of two cases

To treat lateral compartment osteoarthritis caused by a valgus deformity, partial or total knee joint arthroplasty is recommended. However, for young patients, joint preservation surgery such as distal femoral osteotomy (DFO) can be an alternative treatment option. Combined cartilage defects of lateral compartment osteoarthritis can be restored by human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs). This case report presents the results of DFO and hUCB-MSC implantation for treating two patients with valgus deformity who had lateral compartment osteoarthritis.

Two middle-aged patients with lateral compartment osteoarthritis and valgus deformity were treated using DFO and hUCB-MSC implantation. They recovered sufficiently to perform moderate exercise one year after surgery. The International Knee Documentation Committee, visual analog scale, and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index scores showed continuous improvement after surgery. Cartilage regeneration of International Cartilage Repair Society Grade 1, which was similar to normal, was observed in both patients through second-look arthroscopy. With time, the modified two-dimensional magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue scores also increased in both cases.

This is the first case report detailing the results of treating lateral compartment osteoarthritis using hUCB-MSCs and DFO. In conclusion, this can be considered a new treatment option for such cases.