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 · France
London by Eurostar from Paris, cartilage and joint preservation for French patients
French patients reach London Cartilage Clinic by Eurostar from Paris with no flight for cartilage repair, regeneration and ligament preservation.
Read the International Patient Guide
Reviewed byProfessor Paul Lee MBBch, FRCS (Tr & Orth), PhDCartilage and joint preservation expertiseWhy London Cartilage Clinic
Why patients from France choose London Cartilage Clinic
Paris to London by Eurostar is about two hours and twenty minutes, city centre to city centre, with no flight. For French patients that makes London a civilised, low-friction option, and the reason to come is the depth of cartilage and joint-preservation expertise.
Professor Paul Lee assesses whether a joint-preserving cartilage repair or regeneration option is suitable before defaulting to replacement, strongest at the knee, with hip and other joints scoped honestly.
Searching for “chirurgien du cartilage à Londres”?That is us, cartilage surgeon in London.
Why patients travel for treatment
Start with ACi or MACi. Then see what is now possible.
Patients from France 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 France?
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, depending on a full assessment of your imaging, the size and location of the damage and your goals.
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 France
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 France
Paris to London by Eurostar is about two hours and twenty minutes with no flight, arriving in central London.
Eurostar from Paris
Paris Gare du Nord to London St Pancras is about two hours and twenty minutes, then a short journey to Harley Street.
Or a short flight
Paris and other French cities also connect to London by short flights.
Virtual first
A discovery call and virtual consultation with Professor Lee can happen before you travel.
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 France
euros (EUR)Assurance Maladie reimbursement plus pay-and-claim-back
Treatment at London Cartilage Clinic is direct pay, quoted in pounds sterling, with your bank handling the conversion from euros.
Reimbursement of overseas private treatment through Assurance Maladie or your mutuelle varies and is not guaranteed. Where it applies it is pay-and-claim-back, using an itemised invoice. Confirm the specifics 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 · France
Frequently asked questions
Can I reach London from Paris without flying?
Yes. Eurostar from Paris Gare du Nord to London St Pancras is about two hours and twenty minutes, arriving in central London a short journey from the Harley Street clinic.
How does payment and reimbursement work from France?
Treatment is direct pay in pounds sterling. Any reimbursement through Assurance Maladie or your mutuelle is pay-and-claim-back and varies by policy, so confirm the specifics before travelling.
Can follow-up happen back in France?
Early reviews are in London, and later follow-up and rehabilitation are coordinated closer to home, with Professor Lee available for remote review.
Start your journey from France
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.