Hybrid fixation technique restored partially salvageable osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) lesions of the knee and presented positive short-term outcomes with low complication rates according to a retrospective study published in Journal, Cartilage. OCD is a frequently occurred problem that leads to knee pain functional instability.

This study aimed to illustrate the efficacy of hybrid fixation technique with respect to knee functioning, clinical outcomes and patients' activity level at short-term follow-up among 17 patients with OCD lesions. Hybrid fixation used to settle salvageable fragment and osteochondral autograft transplantation system (OATS) to set the unsalvageable fragment. One lesion involved patella, four involved lateral femoral condyles and thirteen with medial femoral condyle. All lesions were graded III or IV as per the  International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS). The Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, Tegner activity scale and Knee Injury were taken as the outcomes. A prospective follow-up was done after the treatment.

The mean postoperative KOOS scores noticed at the mean follow-up of 36 months were Pain 97.4 (5.8), Activities of Daily Living (ADL) 99.5 (1.5), Symptoms 95.9 (6.5), Quality of Life (QoL) 91.1 (17.0), and Sport 94.5 (11.2). The Mean IKDC score noticed was 96.2 (7.0). No difference was noted between mean pre- and post-operative Tegner scores (P = 0.363). At mean  7.8 months follow-up, mean Magnetic Resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue (MOCART) score measured was 87.5. No complications were found. These findings explained that the hybrid technique of fixation with osteochondral autograft transfer improves the patient's condition.