📖 What is knee osteoarthritis?
Knee osteoarthritis (gonarthrosis) is a degenerative joint disease characterised by progressive cartilage loss, subchondral bone remodelling, osteophyte formation, and synovial inflammation. It is the most common form of arthritis, affecting 10–15% of adults over 60.
Chronic pain in osteoarthritis is driven not only by structural damage, but by pathological synovial neovascularisation — a key target of genicular artery embolization at Cochin AP-HP.
🔧 Radiological grading
📊 Kellgren-Lawrence grade I–II
Minimal joint space narrowing, small osteophytes. Conservative treatment: physiotherapy, intra-articular injections, weight loss. Embolization can be considered for pain refractory to injections.
📊 Kellgren-Lawrence grade II–III
Moderate narrowing, clear osteophytes, sclerosis. Main target for genicular artery embolization. 70–80% pain improvement without surgery.
📊 Kellgren-Lawrence grade III–IV
Severe narrowing or bone-on-bone. TKR (total knee replacement) is the surgical gold standard. Embolization may delay surgery or treat residual pain after TKR.
🩻 MRI assessment
Cartilage mapping, synovitis grade, meniscal pathology, subchondral oedema. Useful for treatment planning, especially in younger patients.
🔗 Related pages
🇫🇷 French version: gonarthrose-definition.html