Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) is offering a new surgical option for patients with localised cartilage and bone injuries in the knee: a coral-based biological implant designed to support bone and cartilage regeneration.
The Knee and Arthroscopy Unit, part of Rambam’s Orthopaedic Surgery Section, brings new hope to residents of Northern Israel with knee damage.
Until now, patients with localised knee cartilage and bone injuries that did not require knee replacement were often treated with an autologous graft—tissue taken from another part of the patient’s own knee and transplanted into the damaged area. The new procedure involves placement of a coral-based biological implant that supports the growth of new bone and cartilage tissue, helping repair damage in the knee joint. The new procedure offers potentially better patient outcomes, including less pain, fewer complications, and faster rehabilitation.
A series of these surgeries was recently performed at Rambam for the first time in Northern Israel. The procedures were done by senior physicians from Rambam’s Knee and Arthroscopy Unit team, and sports medicine unit, in the Orthopaedic Surgery Section, led by Dr. Bezalel Peskin, together with attending physicians Dr. Mazen Falah, Dr. Barak Segal, Dr. Shadi Sadia, Dr. Shahem Elias, and Dr. Pavel Kotlyarsky.
A Targeted Option for Young People and Athletes
The implant was developed by the Israeli startup CartiHeal and is marketed by the international company Smith+Nephew. It is made from a laboratory-processed coral scaffold. Because the implant is porous, it acts as a framework that allows natural bone and cartilage cells to grow into it. Over time, the implant is absorbed by the body while supporting the growth of new bone and cartilage tissue. The treatment has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.
Implantation of the coral-based scaffold eliminates the need for complex autologous grafting and offers significant advantages, including the potential for less pain and fewer complications, as no bone needs to be taken from another part of the knee, meaning healthy areas remain unaffected by the graft-harvesting process. In addition, the coral-based implant is available for off-the-shelf immediate use, making it particularly applicable in cases where the patient does not have suitable tissue for grafting. Furthermore, by avoiding traditional autologous grafting, this approach may support a faster and less complex rehabilitation process compared with previous methods.
According to Rambam physicians, this new surgical option may improve quality of life for young patients and athletes in Northern Israel by expanding the treatment options available for focal cartilage and bone injuries in the knee.
