FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / Osteoarthritis Cartilage / Comparison of mechanical debridement and radiofrequency ener...
Osteoarthritis and cartilage2006; 15(2); 169-178; doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2006.06.021

Comparison of mechanical debridement and radiofrequency energy for chondroplasty in an in vivo equine model of partial thickness cartilage injury.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop a long-term model of cartilage injury that could be used to compare the effects of radiofrequency energy (RFE) and mechanical debridement as a treatment. Methods: Partial thickness fibrillation of patellar cartilage was created in 16 mature ponies. Three months after the initial surgery all injured patellae were randomly selected to receive one of the four treatments (n = 8/treatment): (1) control, (2) mechanical debridement with a motorized shaver, (3) TAC-CII RFE probe, and (4) CoVac 50 RFE probe. The ponies were euthanized 22 months after treatment. Macroscopic appearance of the cartilage surface was scored, vital cell staining was used to determine chondrocyte viability and light microscopy was used to grade the morphometric changes within the cartilage. Mechanical properties (aggregate modulus, Poisson's ratio and permeability) also were determined and compared to normal uninjured cartilage. Results: There were no differences in the cartilage surface scores among the treatment groups and control samples (P > 0.05). The maximum depth of cell death and the percentage of dead area in control and mechanical debridement groups were significantly less than those in both RFE groups. There were no significant differences in maximum depth and the percentage of dead area between the two RFE treatment groups. Histologic scores demonstrated better cartilage morphology for the control and mechanical debridement groups than those of RFE groups. However, even with full thickness chondrocyte death, the matrix in the RFE treated sections was still retained and the mechanical properties of the treated cartilage did not differ from the mechanical debridement group. Conclusions: RFE caused greater chondrocyte death and more severe morphological changes compared to untreated degenerative cartilage and mechanical debridement in this model.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2006-08-14 PubMed ID: 16905340DOI: 10.1016/j.joca.2006.06.021Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research paper conducted an in-depth study to evaluate and compare the effects of mechanical debridement and radiofrequency energy (RFE) as treatments for partial thickness cartilage injury. It discovered that while RFE caused greater cell death and more severe morphological changes in cartilage, it retained the matrix structure and the treated cartilage’s mechanical properties were comparable to the mechanical debridement method.

Study’s Methodology

  • The experiment was conducted on 16 mature ponies wherein partial thickness fibrillation of patellar cartilage was artificially created.
  • Three months post the initial surgery, the injured patellae from these ponies were randomly assigned any one of the four treatments – no treatment (control), mechanical debridement with a motorized shaver (removal of damaged tissue with a minor surgical procedure), and two types of Radiofrequency Energy (RFE) probes.
  • The ponies were euthanized 22 months after the treatment, for analysis.
  • Macroscopic appearance of the treated cartilage, chondrocyte (cartilage cells) viability, morphometric changes in the cartilage (physical changes to the size, shape, etc.) and mechanical properties were analyzed and compared to the normal uninjured cartilage.

Results of the Study

  • The macroscopic appearance of the treated cartilage showed no significant differences across all treatment groups.
  • The RFE treated groups exhibited a significantly greater depth of cell death and percentage of dead area compared to both control and mechanical debridement groups.
  • However, no significant differences were observed in maximum depth and the percentage of dead area between the two RFE treatment groups.
  • From a histologic perspective, untreated and mechanically debrided cartilage showed better morphology compared to the RFE groups.
  • Despite the observed full thickness chondrocyte death in the RFE treated samples, the matrix in these sections were still intact. The mechanical properties of the treated cartilage did not significantly deviate from the group treated with mechanical debridement.

Conclusions from the Research

The research concluded that Radiofrequency Energy treatment resulted in more chondrocyte death and led to more severe morphological changes compared to degenerative cartilage left untreated or treated with mechanical debridement. Yet, it was noted that the retained matrix and comparable mechanical properties may offer a potential benefit in treating such cartilage injuries.

Cite This Article

APA
Edwards RB, Lu Y, Uthamanthil RK, Bogdanske JJ, Muir P, Athanasiou KA, Markel MD. (2006). Comparison of mechanical debridement and radiofrequency energy for chondroplasty in an in vivo equine model of partial thickness cartilage injury. Osteoarthritis Cartilage, 15(2), 169-178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2006.06.021

Publication

Osteoarthritis and cartilage
ISSN: 1063-4584
NlmUniqueID: 9305697
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 15
Issue: 2
Pages: 169-178

Researcher Affiliations

Edwards, R B
  • Comparative Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, Department of Surgical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1102, USA.
Lu, Y
    Uthamanthil, R K
      Bogdanske, J J
        Muir, P
          Athanasiou, K A
            Markel, M D

              MeSH Terms

              • Animals
              • Arthroscopy / methods
              • Cartilage Diseases / surgery
              • Cartilage, Articular / metabolism
              • Cartilage, Articular / surgery
              • Horses
              • Radiofrequency Therapy
              • Random Allocation

              Citations

              This article has been cited 10 times.
              1. Sun D, Liu X, Xu L, Meng Y, Kang H, Li Z. Advances in the Treatment of Partial-Thickness Cartilage Defect. Int J Nanomedicine 2022;17:6275-6287.
                doi: 10.2147/IJN.S382737pubmed: 36536940google scholar: lookup
              2. Ząbek T, Witarski W, Szmatoła T, Sawicki S, Mrozowicz J, Samiec M. Trichostatin A-Mediated Epigenetic Modulation Predominantly Triggers Transcriptomic Alterations in the Ex Vivo Expanded Equine Chondrocytes. Int J Mol Sci 2022 Oct 29;23(21).
                doi: 10.3390/ijms232113168pubmed: 36361948google scholar: lookup
              3. Khoury AN, Krupp MJ, Matuska AM, Friedman DJ. Bipolar Radiofrequency Ablation Does Not Result in Full-Thickness Articular Cartilage Penetration: An Ex Vivo Bovine Investigation. Arthrosc Sports Med Rehabil 2022 Jun;4(3):e1067-e1073.
                doi: 10.1016/j.asmr.2022.03.002pubmed: 35747658google scholar: lookup
              4. Lin C, Deng Z, Xiong J, Lu W, Chen K, Zheng Y, Zhu W. The Arthroscopic Application of Radiofrequency in Treatment of Articular Cartilage Lesions. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2021;9:822286.
                doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.822286pubmed: 35127679google scholar: lookup
              5. Gharaibeh M, Szomor A, Chen DB, MacDessi SJ. A Retrospective Study Assessing Safety and Efficacy of Bipolar Radiofrequency Ablation for Knee Chondral Lesions. Cartilage 2018 Jul;9(3):241-247.
                doi: 10.1177/1947603517703731pubmed: 28425303google scholar: lookup
              6. Ganguly K, McRury ID, Goodwin PM, Morgan RE, Augé WK 2nd. Targeted In Situ Biosynthetic Transcriptional Activation in Native Surface-Level Human Articular Chondrocytes during Lesion Stabilization. Cartilage 2012 Apr;3(2):141-55.
                doi: 10.1177/1947603511426881pubmed: 26069627google scholar: lookup
              7. Ganguly K, McRury ID, Goodwin PM, Morgan RE, Augé WK 2nd. Native Chondrocyte Viability during Cartilage Lesion Progression: Normal to Surface Fibrillation. Cartilage 2010 Oct;1(4):306-11.
                doi: 10.1177/1947603510373918pubmed: 26069561google scholar: lookup
              8. Ganguly K, McRury ID, Goodwin PM, Morgan RE, Augé Ii WK. Histopomorphic evaluation of radiofrequency mediated débridement chondroplasty. Open Orthop J 2010 Jun 29;4:211-20.
                doi: 10.2174/1874325001004010211pubmed: 20721322google scholar: lookup
              9. Longo UG, Presti DL, Orozco YRA, Neyjat D, De Salvatore S, De Tommasi F, D'Hooghe M, de Sire A, Samuelsson K. The effects of radiofrequency on cartilage: A systematic review of preclinical evidence in animals and humans. J Exp Orthop 2025 Apr;12(2):e70297.
                doi: 10.1002/jeo2.70297pubmed: 40453479google scholar: lookup
              10. Patil VS, Aggarwal R, Gupta A, Kumar S, Nair V. Intraoperative Identification and Mosaicplasty in a Case of Femur Subchondral Osteoid Osteoma. Cureus 2023 Oct;15(10):e47393.
                doi: 10.7759/cureus.47393pubmed: 38021561google scholar: lookup
              Subscribe to our newsletter
              Join 99,344 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.