Arthroscopic Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate Harvesting From the Intercondylar Notch of the Knee

Abstract

Bone marrow aspirate concentrate is commonly harvested to obtain mesenchymal stem cells, progenitor cells, and growth factors. The iliac crest is the most common donor site for bone marrow harvesting and is associated with donor site morbidity of an additional incision and pain from the harvest. Iliac crest harvesting can be cumbersome because it often requires different patient positioning from the surgical procedure and additional sedation or anesthesia for the harvest prior to repositioning. The purpose of this Technical Note and accompanying video is to describe a technique to arthroscopically aspirate bone marrow from the intercondylar femoral notch, reducing the need for iliac crest harvesting.