Objective: Single-stage minced cartilage techniques have emerged as alternatives to two-stage autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI/MACI) and osteochondral grafting. However, the evolution of different minced cartilage approaches over time, as well as the countries and journals driving this literature, has not been quantified. This study aimed to bibliometrically map the minced cartilage literature from 2000 to 2024, with an additional 2025 snapshot, and to describe temporal trends, technique-specific distributions, including autologous minced cartilage implantation (AMC/ MCI), particulated juvenile allograft cartilage (PJAC), and cartilage autograft implantation system (CAIS), and global and journal-level contributions.
Materials and Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection was searched for English-language original articles and notes related to AMC/MCI, PJAC/DeNovo NT, or CAIS published between 2000 and 2024. Reviews, meta-analyses, editorials, letters, and conference proceedings were excluded. Two authors independently screened records and extracted total citations (TC), citations per year (CPY), study type, technique category, country, journal, and Level of Evidence (Levels I–IV). A separate descriptive search using the same strategy covered the period from 1 January to 29 October 2025 as a “2025 snapshot.”
Results: Of 219 records, 101 original studies published between 2000 and 2024 were included. Annual output accelerated after 2018, with half of all articles published between 2021 and 2024. Therapeutic, basic science, and technical note designs predominated. In basic science studies, AMC/MCI clearly predominated over PJAC, whereas in therapeutic studies, PJAC still outnumbered AMC/MCI. The United States, Germany, and Switzerland together produced approximately two-thirds of all publications. In the 2025 snapshot, 14 original studies were identified, of which 11 (78.6%) involved AMC/MCI.
Conclusion: Bibliometric evidence demonstrates a shift in the minced cartilage literature from an early emphasis on PJAC toward increasing publication activity related to AMC/MCI, particularly after 2018. AMC/MCI now leads basic science output and has become increasingly represented in recent clinical research. However, bibliometric trends do not establish clinical superiority or broad clinical adoption, and long-term comparative studies are needed to define the effectiveness and role of AMC/MCI across chondral lesion patterns and in combination with matrix or biologic adjuvants