Exposure of Tissue-Engineered Cartilage Analogs to Synovial Fluid Hematoma After Ankle Fracture Is Associated With Chondrocyte Death and Altered Cartilage Maintenance Gene Expression.

The majority of ankle fracture open reduction and internal fixation does not occur immediately after fracture. In fact, typically these fractures are treated several days to weeks later in order to let the swelling subside. This means that the healthy innocent bystander cartilage not involved in the fracture is exposed to SFFH during this time. In this study, the SFFH caused decreased chondrocyte viability and specific altered gene expression that might have the potential to induce osteoarthritis. These data suggest that early intervention after intraarticular ankle fracture could possibly mitigate progression toward PTOA.