The outcomes of this randomized trial demonstrate a safe and effective accelerated rehabilitation protocol as well as a regimen that provides comparable, if not superior, clinical outcomes to patients throughout the postoperative timeline.

The 'accelerated' load bearing approach that reduced the length of time spent ambulating on crutches resulted in reduced knee pain, improved function, no graft complications and may speed up the recovery of normal gait function. Patient follow-up to at least 24 months would be required to observe longer-term graft outcomes.

These results suggest that MACI provides a suitable midterm treatment option for articular cartilage defects in the knee. Long-term follow-up is essential to confirm whether the repair tissue has the durability required to maintain long-term patient quality of life.

The arthroscopically performed MACI technique demonstrated good clinical and radiological outcomes up to 5 years, with high levels of patient satisfaction.

IV.