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Various causes have been reported for cystic lesions arising from the cruciate ligaments. We present a case of synovial chondromatosis that involved the posterior cruciate ligament and was treated by an arthroscopic posterior-posterior triangulation method. We recommend that synovial chondromatosis be considered in the differential diagnosis of cystic lesions of the cruciate ligaments. Lesions involving the posterior aspect of the posterior cruciate ligament, as in the presented case, can be accessed via the standard anterior arthroscopic portals. However, scattered synovial chondromatosis masses located in the posterolateral compartment are difficult to access via anterior portals. We suggest that the arthroscopic posterior-posterior triangulation technique may be useful for the management of such cases.

We attempted to repair full-thickness defects in the articular cartilage of the trochlear groove of the femur in 30 rabbit knee joints using allogenic cultured chondrocytes embedded in a collagen gel. The repaired tissues were examined at 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 weeks after operation using histological and histochemical methods. The articular defect filling index measurement was derived from safranin-O stained sections. Apoptotic cellular fractions were derived from analysis of apoptosis in situ using TUNEL staining, and was confirmed using caspase-3 staining along with quantification of the total cellularity. The mean articular defect filling index decreased with time. After 24 weeks it was 0.7 (SD 0.10), which was significantly lower than the measurements obtained earlier (p < 0.01). The highest mean percentage of apoptotic cells were observed at 12 weeks, although the total cellularity decreased with time. Because apoptotic cell death may play a role in delamination after chondrocyte transplantation, anti-apoptotic gene therapy may protect transplanted chondrocytes from apoptosis.

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