What it is

What ChondroFiller is made of, and how it is applied.

ChondroFiller® liquid is an injectable collagen implant. This page explains what it is made of, how it is applied, and who manufactures and supplies it in the UK.

FAQ What to expect

Three-panel illustration of a bounded cartilage defect being cleaned, filled from an applicator, and set flush with the surface

What it is made of

A collagen implant, mixed at the point of use.

ChondroFiller is a collagen-based implant, made from purified collagen, as described in the published literature.¹

It is cell-free: it does not contain cells taken from your own tissue or grown in a laboratory. It is supplied as two components, a collagen solution and a neutralising solution, that are mixed together through an adapter at the moment of use.²

The mixed matrix sets firm in the defect within a few minutes, per the manufacturer.²

ChondroFiller liquid 1.0 ml and 2.3 ml packs with a pre-filled dual-chamber syringe resting on them — The dual-chamber syringe and mixing adapter, illustrative

How it is used

Two ways a surgeon gives it.

ChondroFiller is injected as a liquid and sets within minutes, forming a collagen scaffold in the damaged area. The manufacturer describes it as a resorbable implant that gives your own cells a framework to move into.⁴ How it gets there depends on the joint and on your surgeon.

By injection, without surgery

The surgeon injects ChondroFiller into the joint through a fine needle, using ultrasound to guide it. For the joint at the base of the thumb, this is the method the manufacturer describes: a single injection with a local anaesthetic. A published study followed 64 patients treated this way for two years.^5,6

Some surgeons also give ChondroFiller as an ultrasound-guided injection in other joints, such as the knee, hip or ankle. That is outside the manufacturer’s instructions, which is explained below.

During keyhole surgery

For the knee, hip, shoulder and ankle, the manufacturer’s method places ChondroFiller into the damaged area during keyhole (arthroscopic) or minimally open surgery, so the surgeon can see and prepare the area first.³

The steps further down this page follow that method.

Using a device outside the manufacturer’s instructions

Every medical device comes with the manufacturer’s instructions. In the UK, surgeons can lawfully use a device in a way those instructions do not describe when they judge it is right for a patient. This is sometimes called off-label use, and it is common in surgical practice, including in private clinics. When a surgeon does this, they take responsibility for that decision. MHRA guidance asks them to tell you the use is outside the instructions as part of your consent, to explain the evidence and the alternatives, and to record it in your notes. Ask your surgeon which route they plan to use for your joint, and why.

The surgical route, step by step.

Illustration of a knee joint side view with one small, bounded dip in the cartilage layer — A cartilage defect with the healthy surface around it, illustrative

The ChondroFiller liquid dual-chamber syringe in its sterile blister — Supplied as a ready-to-use dual-chamber syringe

01
Identify
The surgeon identifies and prepares the cartilage defect during arthroscopic (keyhole) surgery.³
02
Prepare
The surgeon cleans the edges of the damaged area so the implant has stable cartilage around it.⁴
03
Fill
ChondroFiller liquid is supplied as a collagen solution and a neutralising solution in a dual-chamber syringe, mixed through an adapter at the point of use. The mixed matrix is applied through the applicator into the prepared defect.²
04
Set
The matrix sets firm in the defect within a few minutes, forming a stable collagen scaffold.²

Who makes it

Manufactured by Meidrix Biomedicals GmbH.

ChondroFiller is manufactured by Meidrix Biomedicals GmbH, Esslingen, Germany.

Manufactured by Meidrix Biomedicals GmbH, Esslingen, Germany. Listed on the MHRA register of medical devices. Registration is not approval. CE marked by the manufacturer; accepted on the Great Britain market under the current transitional arrangements for CE-marked devices. Current instructions for use remain authoritative.

About this website

What it is not

Two things ChondroFiller is not.

Not a painkiller. It does not relieve pain by itself; it is a collagen implant injected into the damaged cartilage, not taken as a drug.
Not a joint replacement. The natural joint surfaces stay in place, and the damaged area is filled with the implant rather than replaced with an artificial joint.

Studies mentioned on this page

1.Perez-Carro L, Mendoza Alejo PR, Gutierrez Castanedo G, Menendez Solana G, Fernandez Divar JA, Galindo Rubin P, Alfonso Fernandez A. Hip Chondral Defects: Arthroscopic Treatment With the Needle and Curette Technique and ChondroFiller. Arthroscopy Techniques, 10(7):e1669-e1675, 2021. View DOI
2.Meidrix Biomedicals GmbH. ChondroFiller® liquid overview brochure. Manufacturer publication, 2024. View source
3.Meidrix Biomedicals GmbH. ChondroFiller® liquid instructions for use. Meidrix Biomedicals GmbH, 2026. View source
4.Meidrix Biomedicals GmbH. ChondroFiller® liquid patient education leaflet. Manufacturer publication, 2022. View source
5.Meidrix Biomedicals GmbH. ChondroFiller® liquid: treatment for rhizarthrosis (F02EN/V002). Manufacturer publication, 2026. View source
6.Corain M, Faccioli N, Lavagnolo U. The Use of Collagen-Based Filler for Trapeziometacarpal Osteoarthritis: Long-Term Follow-Up and Future Applications. Cartilage, 17(3):467-474, 2025. View DOI

Is it for me, or what to expect?

Read who a clinician may consider it for, or what happens before, during and after treatment.

Is it for me?What to expect