Single Stage Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation

Written by Dr Sheila Strover on March 14, 2025

Single Stage Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (STACi) is a one-step surgical cartilage repair procedure.

What is cartilage repair?

Cartilage repair encompasses a number of techniques designed to repair an area of damaged joint cartilage. This may include:

  • pressing plugs of healthy cartilage into pre-drilled holes in the damaged surface
  • disturbing the underlying bone to enable migration of stem cells into the area
  • covering an area of damaged cartilage with a membrane and filling the space behind the membrane with a cell-rich medium that will grow in place.

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Technique of STACi

In the STACi procedure, cartilage cells are harvested from the patient, then released from their matrix and mixed with bone marrow cells (MSCs) and laid onto a membrane which is glued to cover the patient's cartilage defect.

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