Avascular necrosis of the femoral head is caused by a multitude of etiologic factors and is associated with collapse with a risk of hip arthroplasty in younger populations. A focus on early disease management with the use of stem cells was proposed as early as 1985 by the senior author (PH). We undertook a systematic review of the medical literature to examine the progress in cell therapy during the last 30 years for the treatment of early stage osteonecrosis.
*Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy ; Femur Head/*surgery ; Femur Head Necrosis/*surgery ; Humans ; *Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; *Tissue Engineering