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Cartilage Injuries Injury to the knee can cause damage to the articular lining cartilage in the knee joint, or sometimes to both the cartilage and the bone. If the injury is restricted to the cartilage, it will not show up in a plain X-ray; it may be noted on an MRI. An arthroscopy (using a special instrument to look inside the joint) can thoroughly identify it. Symptoms may include swelling and pain when bending the knee. In some cases arthroscopy can be used to 'smooth' the cartilage. Although new cartilage cannot grow to take its place, scar tissue appears. It is also possible to transplant some cartilage from an uninjured part of the knee. Another option is to remove some normal cartilage cells, reproduce them in a lab and then later reimplant them into the damaged area so that new cartilage will grow. Detached Cartilage of Bone in the Knee Joint If the injury is fairly recent, it is possible to put the piece back in place. More commonly, the loose body may be removed by arthroscopy. As cartilage does not show up on an X-ray, the loose body will only be visible if it consists of bone. |




