The recognised starting point
ACi and MACi
The established search terms for cell-based cartilage regeneration. Professor Lee uses them as the familiar reference point when explaining the newer non-surgical and surgical pathways.
International patients · Ireland
Joint preservation in London, about an hour from Dublin
Irish patients travel to London Cartilage Clinic for cartilage and joint preservation, a short flight from Dublin and in a clinic that operates in English.
Read the International Patient Guide
Reviewed byProfessor Paul Lee MBBch, FRCS (Tr & Orth), PhDCartilage and joint preservation expertiseWhy London Cartilage Clinic
Why patients from Ireland choose London Cartilage Clinic
Ireland is close and culturally aligned, and Dublin to London is about an hour by air. Irish patients come for the depth of cartilage and joint-preservation expertise and the range of joint-preserving options.
Where suitable, a joint-preserving option is assessed rather than defaulting to replacement, at any age where the assessment supports it, strongest at the knee, with hip and other joints scoped honestly.
Why patients travel for treatment
Start with ACi or MACi. Then see what is now possible.
Patients from Ireland often arrive searching for ACi or MACi because those are the best-known cartilage cell treatments. They remain important. The assessment also shows where NanoACi, the wider Nano family, the Structure-led STACi pathway, ChondroFiller or Mytocel MSK may fit more precisely.
Non-surgical RegenRepair™
The Nano family
NanoACi for cartilage, NanoAMi for meniscus, NanoATi for tendon and NanoALi for ligament adapt Seed, Soil and Signal to the tissue being treated.
Surgical RegenRepair™
STACi adds Structure
When alignment, stability or the damage pattern needs surgery, STACi addresses Structure before adding the Seed, Soil and Signal cartilage-regeneration biology.
Standalone or within a pathway
Mytocel MSK and ChondroFiller
Mytocel MSK provides living autologous micrografts; ChondroFiller provides a collagen scaffold. Each has a standalone role and both sit within Professor Lee’s wider regenerative toolkit.
Been told replacement is your only option?
Told a knee or hip replacement is your only option in Ireland?
Being told replacement is the only option is often a default rather than the only path. For suitable patients, joint-preserving cartilage repair and regeneration may be an alternative, assessed on your imaging, the size and location of the damage and your goals, rather than on age alone.
The strongest case is at the knee, with hip and other joints scoped honestly and assessed case by case. It is about options, never about being faster.
Every alternative-to-replacement statement is a clinical judgement made only after a full assessment. Suitability depends on your individual case.
Most relevant treatments
Treatments most relevant to patients from Ireland
ACi and MACi
The better-known cell-based cartilage regeneration procedures, kept as a clear starting point and assessed alongside NanoACi and the Structure-led STACi pathway.
Find out more
RegenRepair™ and the Nano family
Professor Lee’s Seed, Soil, Signal framework, adapted into NanoACi for cartilage, NanoAMi for meniscus, NanoATi for tendon and NanoALi for ligament.
Find out more
NanoACi
A non-arthroscopic cartilage-regeneration pathway combining autologous micrografts, a collagen scaffold and platelet-rich fibrin in one image-guided session.
Find out more
STACi
Professor Lee’s surgical RegenRepair™ pathway: Structure first, then Seed, Soil and Signal for cartilage damage that needs mechanical correction or stabilisation as well as regeneration.
Find out more
ChondroFiller
Collagen cartilage regeneration delivered by injection, made by Meidrix Biomedicals GmbH. The clinic was the first in the UK to offer it as an injection.
Find out more
Mytocel MSK
A single-session regenerative injection using living autologous micrografts prepared chair-side from a small sample of the patient’s own tissue.
Find out moreGetting here
Getting here from Ireland
Dublin to London is about an hour by air, with frequent daily flights, making a focused visit easy to plan.
Dublin to London
About a one-hour flight to any London airport, with frequent daily services from Dublin and other Irish cities.
Virtual first
A discovery call and virtual consultation with Professor Lee can happen before you travel.
English throughout
The clinic operates in English, so the whole pathway is easy to follow.
Visiting us
How to find us
Consultations
66 Harley Street
London W1G 7HD
United Kingdom
Surgery
A partner hospital on Weymouth Street, a few minutes from Harley Street. Imaging is arranged for you as part of your pathway.
Getting here
Central London, a short walk from Regent’s Park, Oxford Circus and Bond Street underground stations.
Costs and insurance
Costs and insurance for patients from Ireland
euros (EUR)self-pay plus private insurance pay-and-claim-back
Treatment at London Cartilage Clinic is direct pay, quoted in pounds sterling, with your bank handling the conversion from euros.
If you hold private health insurance, treatment abroad is usually pay-and-claim-back: you settle with the clinic and claim using an itemised invoice. Confirm what your policy covers before travelling.
Authority
The surgeon you are choosing
International patients are usually choosing between a small number of world specialists, so the surgeon matters more than any single treatment. Your consultation, your treatment and your follow-up are all with Professor Paul Lee.
- Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and medical engineer, PhD
- Internationally published in cartilage repair and joint preservation, cited over 1,000 times
- Lead of an ICRS teaching centre for cartilage regeneration
- Joint-replacement outcomes recorded in the National Joint Registry, within the expected range
- Member of the British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK)
International patients · Ireland
Frequently asked questions
How long is the trip from Ireland?
Dublin to London is about an hour by air. Many patients complete the first consultation virtually and travel only when there is a clear plan.
Are joint-preserving options really assessed at any age?
Suitability is assessed on your imaging, the size and location of the damage and your goals, rather than on age alone. Professor Lee is honest where a joint-preserving option is not the right choice.
How does payment and insurance work from Ireland?
Treatment is direct pay in pounds sterling. Any private insurance reimbursement is pay-and-claim-back and varies by policy, so confirm the specifics before travelling.
Start your journey from Ireland
Wherever you are travelling from, the first step is the same. Talk it through on a discovery call, or have a virtual consultation with Professor Lee before you plan any travel.