Defining failure in articular cartilage surgery

Articular cartilage injury remains a challenging condition for orthopedic surgeons to address. While multiple treatment options exist and have reported improvement in patient symptoms, sustained and successful treatment of symptomatic chondral defects remains elusive in many cases. Physicians may define failure in a multitude of ways such as subsequent surgery, progression to arthroplasty, lack of improvement in outcome measures, lack of hyaline-like repair tissue, or poor appearance on imaging studies. This chapter reviews the currentstandards for defining treatment failure in order to address the importance of consistent and clear goals for treating cartilage injuries and understanding the outcome tools currently available.