Knee conditions

Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD)

A lesion where bone beneath the joint surface loses its blood supply.

Osteochondritis dissecans — usually shortened to OCD — is a lesion in which a small area of bone just beneath the joint surface loses its blood supply. The cartilage sitting on top of it can then be affected too. In the knee it is most often seen in active children and adolescents.

A young athlete jumping on an outdoor running track

Why OCD is followed closely in a growing child

In a skeleton that is still growing, some lesions have the capacity to heal. Whether that is likely depends on where the lesion is, how large it is, whether the fragment is stable, and how much growth the child has left.

That assessment comes from an independent review of the imaging rather than from the symptoms alone, because a lesion can be significant while the knee still feels reasonably well.

How Dr. Green decides between surgery and non-surgical treatment

How Dr. Green treats osteochondritis dissecans

Assessment of lesion stabilityEstablishing from imaging whether the fragment is stable, and how much growth remains.
Cartilage and osteochondral proceduresWhere the joint surface is involved, the cartilage procedures Dr. Green performs apply here too.

13 peer-reviewed papers on osteochondritis dissecans

Dr. Green's published research on osteochondritis dissecans

Of the papers indexed on PubMed under Dr. Green’s Hospital for Special Surgery affiliation, 13 are on this subject. Dr. Green is a principal investigator with ROCK — Research in OsteoChondritis of the Knee — the multicenter study group dedicated to this condition.

See the full publication record

Dr. Green co-authored HSS’s clinical article on this condition

Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee appears in the HSS health library with Shevaun Mackie Doyle, MD. He is author 2 of 2. The article is HSS’s, and it is published there rather than reproduced here.

Read it on hss.edu

The papers themselves

The 8 most recent of his 13 papers on this subject, indexed on PubMed under his Hospital for Special Surgery affiliation. Each opens on PubMed.

All 13 of his papers on this subject

Patients Dr. Green has treated for this condition

The Hospital for Special Surgery publishes these accounts in its Back in the Game archive. All 3 list Dr. Green as the treating surgeon. Each has its own page here, cited back to hss.edu.

Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee Scott Perry West Palm Beach, FL Read Scott’s story

Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee Jack Chappaqua, NY Read Jack’s story

Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee Matthew Howe Hopewell Junction, NY Read Matthew’s story

All 31 patient stories

Questions parents ask

Can OCD heal without surgery?

Some lesions in a still-growing child do have healing potential. Whether that applies to an individual child depends on the imaging, so it is assessed case by case rather than assumed.

What does "dissecans" mean?

It refers to the way a fragment of bone and cartilage can separate from the surrounding joint surface. The term describes the lesion, not the treatment.