Implant failure after biodegradable screw fixation in osteochondritis dissecans of the knee in skeletally immature patients.

Abstract

PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this study was to retrospectively assess the incidence of bioabsorbable screw failure in skeletally immature patients treated for osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the knee. The second purpose was to assess implant degradation, focusing on differential breakdown of the intraosseous and extraosseous parts of the screw on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: In this retrospective study, 24 patients (30 knees) with MRI-confirmed OCD were treated with a total of 61 biodegradable screws and followed up for a minimum of 2 years or until the onset of new symptoms. MRI scans were performed every 6 months to assess differences in signal intensity between the hea..