The authors describe the appearance of knee joint cartilage during the examination with nuclear magnetic resonance in a group of patients after surgical therapy of cartilage defects by the method of autologous transplantation of chondrocytes in a carrier. The appearance of the graft and surrounding joint structure were followed in regular intervals of two weeks, two months, 6 months and in some cases 12 months after the operation. Most frequent findings including possible complications are demonstrated. The contribution of various MR sequences is discussed.

        Key words: autologous chondrocytic implants – magnetic resonance