http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspxThe latest FAQ's from Avoid Knee Replacement(c) 2012, Avoid Knee Replacement. All rights reserved.5Typically, menisci are “C” or crescent shaped and semicircular. They are positioned between the femur and tibial and thus leave the central part of the top of the tibia (tibial plateau articular surface) uncovered as it meets with the femur. In some people the meniscal cartilage forms differently. The meniscus may be wider than usual and in some cases it is so wide that instead of resembling a crescent, it covers the entire plateau of the tibia and appears to be a full disc of tissue, hence the name discoid meniscus. This variant occurs more frequently on the outside (lateral) meniscus. It is usually without symptoms, but may be torn as with any meniscus.http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspx?faqId=23The short answer is no. The long answer is that not only is the cartilage in different areas of different thicknesses (the patella and femoral condyles are usually thicker than the trochlear groove and tibial plateaus), the composition of the matrix is different. In fact, the orientation of the collagen bundles in the matrix is somewhat like a fingerprint for each area of the joint. These variations must be strongly considered and respected when transplanting cartilage from one site of the knee to another (see osteochondral autograft).http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspx?faqId=24The medial meniscus is the "C" shaped fibrocartilage pad that helps transfer force from the tibia to the femur. Lay and sports people often use the term cartilage to mean the meniscal cartilage. Visit the "Learning About Your Knee" page on this site to learn of the difference between the meniscal cartilage and the articular cartilage. The second part of your question --medial--refers to the inner aspect of the knee. That is, if you put your knees together the areas touching are the medial aspects of both knees. The other meniscus is between the tibia and femur on the outside of the knee (lateral) and is called the lateral meniscus.http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspx?faqId=25Isolated MCL sprains usually heal with conservative management which typically includes a brace to protect the healing ligament and a rehabilitation program. Even those with ACL tears respond frequently with healing to acceptable laxity after the ACL is reconstructed. For the rare MCL tear which does not heal with conservative measures there are techniques for reconstruction, . Those at risk for problems with MCL healing are those with extreme generalized laxity, especially if the knee has alignment that places stress on the healing ligament (knock-knee or valgus knee)http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspx?faqId=26The living cartilage biopsy tissue is sent to a laboratory. The cells are released from the cartilage tissue are called chondrocytes. With cell culturing techniques the numbers are greatly multipled, from a few hundred thousand to over 10 million. The entire process takes approximately 3 to 4 weeks after harvest and varies from patient to patient.http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspx?faqId=27The International Patellofemoral Study Group (www.ipsg.org) and Orthopaedic Surgeons, in general, no longer use the term to describe a clinical (office) diagnosis. Quite simply, the term means "soft cartilage" and can only be used when directly inspecting the cartilage either in an open or arthroscopic manner or as viewed on an MRI or CT arthrogram. In the past, the term was applied quite freely and inaccurately to any pain in the front aspect of the knee. In fact, the amount of cartilage softening does not correlate with symptoms. Therefore, the term as a clinical diagnosis is for historical purposes only. The current goal is to identify the anatomic source of pain and to use that in the formation of a specific diagnosis. The most common form of pain in the region of the patella is muscular and soft tissue imbalance for the desired level of activity: imbalance patellofemoral pain.http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspx?faqId=28With regards to the knee, the term "alignment" in orthopedics refers to the relative positions of the bones as they meet at the joints. Just as with a car, which has a wheel out of alignment that leads to wear on one side of a tire, so to, in a human, being “out of alignment” can potentially cause problems. This is usually referred to as malalignment or “excessive positioning” and can involve both the long bones and/ or the kneecap. With malalignment, the forces through the joint may be altered to the point that can result in joint pain and/or degenerative joint disease changes over time. When considering joint and/ or cartilage restoration, an important step is to restore proper alignment and thus improve loads (forces) through the knee. Said another way, if you have a car wheel out of alignment that causes tire (cartilage) wear, it does not make sense to simply replace the tire (cartilage) without correcting the alignment to stop the abnormal wear.http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspx?faqId=29Unfortuantely, the meniscus has a poor blood supply and the opportunity for healing is low for most unstable tears. The area near the attachment sites at the outer margins of the meniscus (periphery) do have a better blood supply and thus opportunity for healing in this area is better. Nevertheless, for all patients and all tear types the number of repairable tears is typically reported in the range of 10-15%.http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspx?faqId=32The term "knee replacement" is a broad term describing the replacement of one or more parts of the knee joint with artificial parts. A total knee replacement involves replacement of the entire knee joint, while a partial knee replacement (unicompartmental knee replacement, patellofemoral knee replacement, or bicompartmental knee replacement) involves replacement of only a portion of the knee joint. See the "TREATMENT OPTIONS" section of this website for more information.http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspx?faqId=33"An overview of available clinical series studies suggest that at least 90% of total knee replacements (TKR) will be functional at 10 years, 80% at 15 years and 70% at 20 years.--some series have better results and others with less optimal results. Partial knee replacement surgery has a somewhat different course. Partial knee replacement is a technically demanding procedure and thus in many clinical series there is at times a significant early "learning curve" with suboptimal results for some surgeons. That is, technical issues early in the introduction of some partilal knee replacements may lead to higher earlier failure rates than with TKR. Once these early problems/failures are taken into account, the longer term success of modern partial knee replacements appear to be similar to TKR with the caveat that obviously the other areas of the joint can deteriorate (note these may also have the option of additional partial knee replacements)."http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspx?faqId=34Each carrier is different. To check for coverage, visit the insurance carrier website and enter "medical policy for cartilage procedures" in the search option.http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspx?faqId=35This is a test question.http://www.avoidkneereplacement.com/avoidknee/FAQ.aspx?faqId=36