Modern treatment of meniscal tears

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Abstract

The complex ultrastructure of the meniscus determines its vital functions for the knee, the lower extremity, and the body.
The most recent concise, reliable, and valid classification system for meniscal tears is the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISAKOS) Classification, which takes into account the subsequent parameters: tear depth, tear pattern, tear length, tear location/rim width, radial location, location according to the popliteal hiatus, and quality of the meniscal tissue.
It is the orthopaedic surgeon’s responsibility to combine clinical information, radiological images, and clinical experience in an effort to individualize management of meniscal tears, taking into account factors related to the patient and lesion.
Surgeons should strive not to operate in most cases, but to protect, repair or reconstruct, in order to prevent early development of osteoarthritis by restoring the native structure, function, and biomechanics of the meniscus.
Currently, there are three main methods of modern surgical management of meniscus tears: arthroscopic partial meniscectomy; meniscal repair with or without augmentation techniques; and meniscal reconstruction. Meniscus surgery has come a long way from the old slogan, “If it is torn, take it out!” to the currently accepted slogan, “Save the meniscus!” which has guided evolving modern treatment methods for meniscal tears. This last slogan will probably constitute the basis for newer alternative biological treatment methods in the future.

Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2018;3 DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.3.170067.

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Most cited references 91

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Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy versus sham surgery for a degenerative meniscal tear.

Raine Sihvonen, Mika Paavola, Antti Malmivaara … (2013)

Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy is one of the most common orthopedic procedures, yet rigorous evidence of its efficacy is lacking. We conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial in 146 patients 35 to 65 years of age who had knee symptoms consistent with a degenerative medial meniscus tear and no knee osteoarthritis. Patients were randomly assigned to arthroscopic partial meniscectomy or sham surgery. The primary outcomes were changes in the Lysholm and Western Ontario Meniscal Evaluation Tool (WOMET) scores (each ranging from 0 to 100, with lower scores indicating more severe symptoms) and in knee pain after exercise (rated on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 denoting no pain) at 12 months after the procedure. In the intention-to-treat analysis, there were no significant between-group differences in the change from baseline to 12 months in any primary outcome. The mean changes (improvements) in the primary outcome measures were as follows: Lysholm score, 21.7 points in the partial-meniscectomy group as compared with 23.3 points in the sham-surgery group (between-group difference, -1.6 points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -7.2 to 4.0); WOMET score, 24.6 and 27.1 points, respectively (between-group difference, -2.5 points; 95% CI, -9.2 to 4.1); and score for knee pain after exercise, 3.1 and 3.3 points, respectively (between-group difference, -0.1; 95% CI, -0.9 to 0.7). There were no significant differences between groups in the number of patients who required subsequent knee surgery (two in the partial-meniscectomy group and five in the sham-surgery group) or serious adverse events (one and zero, respectively). In this trial involving patients without knee osteoarthritis but with symptoms of a degenerative medial meniscus tear, the outcomes after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy were no better than those after a sham surgical procedure. (Funded by the Sigrid Juselius Foundation and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00549172.).

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Biomechanical consequences of a tear of the posterior root of the medial meniscus. Similar to total meniscectomy.

M Muriuki, Christopher Harner, Lars Gilbertson … (2008)

Tears of the posterior root of the medial meniscus are becoming increasingly recognized. They can cause rapidly progressive arthritis, yet their biomechanical effects are not understood. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of posterior root tears of the medial meniscus and their repairs on tibiofemoral joint contact pressure and kinematics. Nine fresh-frozen cadaver knees were used. An axial load of 1000 N was applied with a custom testing jig at each of four knee-flexion angles: 0 degrees, 30 degrees, 60 degrees, and 90 degrees. The knees were otherwise unconstrained. Four conditions were tested: (1) intact, (2) a posterior root tear of the medial meniscus, (3) a repaired posterior root tear, and (4) a total medial meniscectomy. Fuji pressure-sensitive film was used to record the contact pressure and area for each testing condition. Kinematic data were obtained by using a robotic arm to record the position of the knees for each loading condition. Three-dimensional knee kinematics were analyzed with custom programs with use of previously described transformations. The measured variables were axial rotation, varus angulation, lateral translation, and anterior translation. In the medial compartment, a posterior root tear of the medial meniscus caused a 25% increase in peak contact pressure compared with that found in the intact condition (p < 0.001). Repair restored the peak contact pressure to normal. No difference was detected between the peak contact pressure after the total medial meniscectomy and that associated with the root tear. The peak contact pressure in the lateral compartment after the total medial meniscectomy was up to 13% greater than that for all other conditions (p = 0.026). Significant increases in external rotation and lateral tibial translation, compared with the values in the intact knee, were observed in association with the posterior root tear (2.98 degrees and 0.84 mm, respectively) and the meniscectomy (4.45 degrees and 0.80 mm, respectively), and these increases were corrected by the repair. This study demonstrated significant changes in contact pressure and knee joint kinematics due to a posterior root tear of the medial meniscus. Root repair was successful in restoring joint biomechanics to within normal conditions.

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Meniscal root tears: significance, diagnosis, and treatment.

Sanjeev Bhatia, Christopher LaPrade, Michael B Ellman … (2014)

Meniscal root tears, less common than meniscal body tears and frequently unrecognized, are a subset of meniscal injuries that often result in significant knee joint disorders. The meniscus root attachment aids meniscal function by securing the meniscus in place and allowing for optimal shock-absorbing function in the knee. With root tears, meniscal extrusion often occurs, and the transmission of circumferential hoop stresses is impaired. This alters knee biomechanics and kinematics and significantly increases tibiofemoral contact pressure. In recent years, meniscal root tears, which by definition include direct avulsions off the tibial plateau or radial tears adjacent to the root itself, have attracted attention because of concerns that significant meniscal extrusion dramatically inhibits normal meniscal function, leading to a condition biomechanically similar to a total meniscectomy. Recent literature has highlighted the importance of early diagnosis and treatment; fortunately, these processes have been vastly improved by advances in magnetic resonance imaging and arthroscopy. This article presents a review of the clinically relevant anatomic, biomechanical, and functional descriptions of the meniscus root attachments, as well as current strategies for accurate diagnosis and treatment of common injuries to these meniscus root attachments.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): EFORT Open Rev

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): EFORT Open Rev

Title: EFORT Open Reviews

Publisher: British Editorial Society of Bone and Joint Surgery

ISSN (Electronic): 2058-5241

Publication date Collection: May 2018

Publication date (Electronic): 21 May 2018

Volume: 3

Issue: 5

Pages: 260-268

Affiliations

[1 ]Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Department of Sports Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

[2 ]Konya N.E. University, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Department of Sports Medicine, Konya, Turkey

[3 ]Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Ankara, Turkey

[4 ]Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, De Pintelaan, Ghent, Belgium

Author notes

[*]M. N. Doral, Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Department of Sports Medicine, Sihhiye, 06100, Ankara, Turkey Email: mndoral@ 123456gmail.com

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Publisher ID: 10.1302_2058-5241.3.170067

DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.3.170067

PMC ID: 5994634

PubMed ID: 29951265

SO-VID: 558bbc77-86aa-4856-9bae-934c0c019bd3

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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) licence ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed.

Modern treatment of meniscal tears

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EFORT Open Reviews

Most cited references 91

Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy versus sham surgery for a degenerative meniscal tear.

Biomechanical consequences of a tear of the posterior root of the medial meniscus. Similar to total meniscectomy.

Meniscal root tears: significance, diagnosis, and treatment.

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