Cartilage defects occur in approximately 12% of the population and can result in significant function impairment and reduction in quality of life. Evidence for the variety of surgical treatments available is inconclusive. This study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of patients with symptomatic cartilage defects treated with matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI or microfracture (MF). ⋯ MACI is superior to MF in the treatment of articular defects over 2 years. MACI and MF are complementary procedures, depending on the size of the defect and symptom recurrence. The MACI technique represents a significant advance over both first and second generation chondrocyte-based cartilage repair techniques for surgeons, patients, health care institutions and payers in terms of reproducibility, safety, intraoperative time, surgical simplicity and reduced invasiveness.

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