Chondrectoms are specially designed set of tools for precise and easy separation of loose cartilage tissue and subsequent removal of calcified tissue layer from subchondral surface, leaving at the same time intact subchondral plate, prior to any biologically-based repair¹.

Unique shape of chondrectoms, combined with special design of their cutting surface provide possibility for precise shaping of the cartilage lesions, with simultaneous formation of perpendicular walls of the defect. Importantly, tools offer a possibility to reach all sites of cartilage defect form one arthroscopic port (every direction of approach), reducing by this time of the surgery, without any compromise on the quality of procedure².

Preparation of articular cartilage defect with chondrectoms has significant positive impact on the reconstructed tissue and by this it increases the chance of future clinical success.

Articular cartilage injury in the synovial joint is a serious source of pain and dysfunction in increasing number of patients. Consequently, this linked with a very limited intrinsic regeneration potential of the cartilage has necessitated the development of various surgical treatments options of cartilage lesions. Importantly, it important to realize that proper cartilage defect preparation is a crucial first step of any biologically-based cartilage repair procedures, providing the correct environment for the formation of durable and well-integrated regenerated tissue¹.

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Chondrectoms are unique set of tools which provides possibility for fast and precise preparation the articular cartilage defect prior to biologically-based defect reconstruction. Tailored and sharp cutting surface of the chondrectoms allows the user for precise shaping of the cartilage lesions, and formation of cartilage defect with walls perpendicular to the underlying subchondral bone. Importantly, each chondrectom is highly specialized tool, and each element is tailored to approach a cartilage defect from different angle. This results in possibility to access all of its sites via one arthroscopic approach. Combination of those features enable the preparation of the defect site in a way that the quality of the subsequently reconstructed tissue will be highly improved. Clearly, this increases the chance of future clinical success, with improved perspective for the patient for return to full physical activity.

Chondrectom™ tools are available in a different configurations in order to meet the needs of the each medical practitioner interested in arthroscopically done cartilage reconstruction. Thus, tool set can be obtained in four different set ups: 

Chondral defects can occur as two phenotypically distinctive tissue failures – traumatic lesion or chronic lesion. First phenotype is usually connected with high impact load on the tissue, when the second type is usually caused by the long term interplay between mechanical and biochemical factors in the joint as a result of meniscal injuries, ligaments instability and finally development of osteoarthritis^1,2. Regardless of the source, articular cartilage injury is a very significant source of pain and progressive dysfunction of the joints. Limited capacity for healing of the articular cartilage has led to the development of various surgical treatments options of the lesions. Those are usually based on scaffold, membraned or other matrices. Importantly, preparation of cartilage lesion is an crucial and first element of proper cartilage repair procedure since it provides physiologically correct defect morphology and subsequently increases the chance for formation of durable and well-integrated regenerated tissue³.

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In details, prior to any biologically-based procedure, such as cartilage regeneration based on scaffold or membrane implantation, the defect should be cleaned of any loose tissue. This should be done in such ways that walls are aligned and stay perpendicular to subchondral bone. Additionally, calcified layer of the tissue at the bottom of the defect has to be removed⁴. Formation of those conditions is based on the literature since already in 2005 Alford et al. described that cartilage walls that surround the defect that lacks verticality lead to enlargement of the lesion and its progression by deterioration of the remaining fragments⁵. Thus, authors concluded that proper debridement of the articular cartilage tissue which will create the cartilage walls perpendicular to subchondral bone before any biologically-based repair, plays a significant role in further clinical success.
The most popular method of the articular cartilage defect debridement uses standard curette technique. However, despite its popularity in orthopedic operation room, a classical curette still leaves a lot to be desired. First of all, curette does not guarantee the removal the calcified layer of the tissue at the bottom of the defect or to access to all of it sites from one port, neither allow to prepare the defect with accurate perpendicular walls. For that reason, Blasiak et al. (2018) in their work suggested that only a specialized instruments dedicated especially for cartilage debridement allow creation of a cartilage defect with increased chance for further reconstruction. Authors concluded that only with use of precise instruments – such as chondrectoms –the cartilage can be debrided effectively in shorter period of time possible. Furthermore, due to their sharp and durable edges, the instrument can remove calcified layer from the bottom of the defect.
In details, arthroscopically prepared cartilage defects using chondrectom instruments achieve better geometric verticality of the cartilage walls at the front of the lesions compared to the geometry of the walls of chondral defects prepared using competitive instruments. The technique of preparing cartilage defects using chondrectom instruments gives absolute correlation of the verticality of the surrounding walls in the anterior view vs. the posterior view of the cleaned lesion. The competing instrument achieves a significantly unsatisfactory verticality in the anterior part of the defect compared to the posterior part³. Moreover, a detailed comparison shows that the profile of the cartilage defect wall can be characterized as the most ideal ("straight, flat") in the vast majority of cartilage defects prepared with chondrectomy instruments. In the case of a competing tool, this type of comparison shows that only 10% of defects prepared with them can be described as perfectly prepared ("straight, flat"). Finally, the target volume required for cleaning the defect site can be achieved in virtually all defects prepared with chondrectomy instruments. In contrast, competing tools achieve inconsistent and insufficient depth of cleaning, as demonstrated by the fact that only 34% of defects can achieve the intended depth³.
), 908-914.