Is the Cartiva synthetic cartilage implant a significant step forward in treating osteoarthritis?

The Cartiva hyrdrogel synthetic cartilage implant is a significant leap forward in what we have done previously for many reasons. It has a great track record now of two year followup that shows pain, safety and functional scores are the same as the gold standard treatment, which we have always had which has been the fusion. There is a very low risk of implant failure, such as with the silicone and titanium implants that we've been using for the past 20 years or longer.