Meniscal Repair of Horizontal Cleavage Tear

What is it about?

There are only limited treatment options available for patients with horizontal degenerative cleavage tears of the meniscus. We repaired ten menisci in stable knees. After placement of FasT-Fix (Smith & Nephew Endoscopy, Andover, MA) vertical sutures to close the horizontal meniscal tear, we filled the cleft with fibrin clots before tightening the sutures. We found a significant improvement in postoperative Lysholm and IKDC subjective scores and Tegner activity levels. Follow-up arthroscopy showed complete healing in seven patients (70 %) and incomplete healing in three patients (30 %). The mean age was higher in the incomplete healing group (50.3 years) than the complete healing group (29.7 years). Our results indicate that our technique may be a useful treatment option for patients with degenerative horizontal cleavage tears, particularly younger patients.

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Why is it important?

Our results indicate that our technique may be a useful treatment option for patients with degenerative horizontal cleavage tears, particularly younger patients.