Drilling or Pridie Drilling
This procedure is a variation of the Abrasion chondroplasty, where the holes of approximately 2.0–2.5 mm in diameter are drilled into the subchondral layer of the cartilage. Just like the abrasion chondroplasty, drilling seems to cause a spontaneous repair of the cartilage with fibrous tissue. This procedure is used with the greatest success on younger patients. It is an open operation on the knee with all problems associated with it - longer recovery period, and a bigger probability of complications.
The picture below is a depiction of the open knee operation. One can see femur with a leison on one of the condyles.
Image Credit: Orthop Clin N Am 36 (2005) 419 – 426
This is the condyle after the drilling and microfracture have been performed.
Image credit: Orthop Clin N Am 36 (2005) 419 – 426
