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 · Australia
ACL repair and cartilage preservation in London, for patients from Australia
Australian patients travel to London Cartilage Clinic for ACL repair that preserves the native ligament and for cartilage repair and regeneration, planned as a single trip.
Read the International Patient Guide
Reviewed byProfessor Paul Lee MBBch, FRCS (Tr & Orth), PhDCartilage and joint preservation expertiseWhy London Cartilage Clinic
Why patients from Australia choose London Cartilage Clinic
The documented draw for Australian patients is ACL repair that preserves your own ligament rather than replacing it with a graft, when the repair window is still open. Professor Paul Lee offers ligament-preserving repair alongside cartilage repair and regeneration, so the whole knee is assessed together.
Because it is a long trip, the pathway is built around a single visit: much of the early conversation is by discovery call and virtual consultation, imaging is reviewed in advance where possible, and the recovery window is planned before you fly home.
Why patients travel for treatment
Start with ACi or MACi. Then see what is now possible.
Patients from Australia 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 Australia?
If you have been told a replacement is your only route, it is worth an assessment of whether a joint-preserving option is suitable. For the right patient, cartilage repair and regeneration may be an alternative depending on your imaging, the size and location of the damage and your goals.
The strongest case is at the knee. Hip and other joints are scoped honestly and assessed case by case.
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 Australia
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
NanoALi
A ligament-focused RegenRepair™ pathway for selected partial or healing ACL, MCL, ankle and other ligament injuries where useful continuity remains.
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
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 Australia
Australia to London is long-haul, so the trip is planned carefully around one visit with the recovery window built in.
Long-haul, one trip
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth connect to London via a single stop or direct. The visit is planned so you travel once.
Virtual first
Discovery call and virtual consultation with Professor Lee happen before you fly, with imaging reviewed in advance where possible.
Recovery before you fly
Plan enough time in London after any procedure before the long flight home. Later rehabilitation is coordinated closer to home.
Australian patients often browse in their evening, which is UK morning, so enquiries are usually answered the same working day.
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 Australia
Australian dollars (AUD)self-pay, with pay-and-claim-back private insurance
Treatment at London Cartilage Clinic is direct pay, quoted in pounds sterling, with your bank handling the conversion from Australian dollars.
If you hold private health insurance, treatment abroad is usually arranged as pay-and-claim-back: you settle with the clinic and submit an itemised invoice. Confirm what your fund covers before travelling. A personalised quote follows your assessment.
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 · Australia
Frequently asked questions
Is ACL repair suitable for me if I am travelling from Australia?
ACL repair preserves your own ligament and depends on timing and the pattern of the tear. Because the repair window is time-sensitive, start with a discovery call and share your MRI early so Professor Lee can assess suitability before you commit to travel.
How long should I plan to stay in London from Australia?
Long enough for the procedure and the early review before the flight home. Professor Lee confirms the exact plan at consultation, and much of the preparation happens virtually beforehand so the trip is efficient.
Can rehabilitation continue back in Australia?
Yes. The early reviews are in London and the staged rehabilitation programme is coordinated with a physiotherapist closer to home, with Professor Lee available for remote review.
Start your journey from Australia
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.