The knee meniscus: management of traumatic tears and degenerative lesions

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Abstract

Meniscectomy is one of the most popular orthopaedic procedures, but long-term results are not entirely satisfactory and the concept of meniscal preservation has therefore progressed over the years. However, the meniscectomy rate remains too high even though robust scientific publications indicate the value of meniscal repair or non-removal in traumatic tears and non-operative treatment rather than meniscectomy in degenerative meniscal lesions
In traumatic tears, the first-line choice is repair or non-removal. Longitudinal vertical tears are a proper indication for repair, especially in the red-white or red-red zones. Success rate is high and cartilage preservation has been proven. Non-removal can be discussed for stable asymptomatic lateral meniscal tears in conjunction with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Extended indications are now recommended for some specific conditions: horizontal cleavage tears in young athletes, hidden posterior capsulo-meniscal tears in ACL injuries, radial tears and root tears.
Degenerative meniscal lesions are very common findings which can be considered as an early stage of osteoarthritis in middle-aged patients. Recent randomised studies found that arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) has no superiority over non-operative treatment. Thus, non-operative treatment should be the first-line choice and APM should be considered in case of failure: three months has been accepted as a threshold in the ESSKA Meniscus Consensus Project presented in 2016. Earlier indications may be proposed in cases with considerable mechanical symptoms.
The main message remains: save the meniscus!

Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2017;2. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.2.160056. Originally published online at www.efortopenreviews.org

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Most cited references 43

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A controlled trial of arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee.

J Bruce Moseley, Kimberly O'malley, Nancy Petersen … (2002)

Many patients report symptomatic relief after undergoing arthroscopy of the knee for osteoarthritis, but it is unclear how the procedure achieves this result. We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of arthroscopy for osteoarthritis of the knee. A total of 180 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee were randomly assigned to receive arthroscopic débridement, arthroscopic lavage, or placebo surgery. Patients in the placebo group received skin incisions and underwent a simulated débridement without insertion of the arthroscope. Patients and assessors of outcome were blinded to the treatment-group assignment. Outcomes were assessed at multiple points over a 24-month period with the use of five self-reported scores--three on scales for pain and two on scales for function--and one objective test of walking and stair climbing. A total of 165 patients completed the trial. At no point did either of the intervention groups report less pain or better function than the placebo group. For example, mean (+/-SD) scores on the Knee-Specific Pain Scale (range, 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more severe pain) were similar in the placebo, lavage, and débridement groups: 48.9+/-21.9, 54.8+/-19.8, and 51.7+/-22.4, respectively, at one year (P=0.14 for the comparison between placebo and lavage; P=0.51 for the comparison between placebo and débridement) and 51.6+/-23.7, 53.7+/-23.7, and 51.4+/-23.2, respectively, at two years (P=0.64 and P=0.96, respectively). Furthermore, the 95 percent confidence intervals for the differences between the placebo group and the intervention groups exclude any clinically meaningful difference. In this controlled trial involving patients with osteoarthritis of the knee, the outcomes after arthroscopic lavage or arthroscopic débridement were no better than those after a placebo procedure.

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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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A comparative study of meniscectomy and nonoperative treatment for degenerative horizontal tears of the medial meniscus.

Hyeon Yim, Ik Kyun Choi, Cheol Kim … (2013)

It is still debated whether a degenerative horizontal tear of the medial meniscus should be treated with surgery. The clinical outcomes of arthroscopic meniscectomy will be better than those of nonoperative treatment for a degenerative horizontal tear of the medial meniscus. Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1. A total of 102 patients with knee pain and a degenerative horizontal tear of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus on magnetic resonance imaging were included in this study between January 2007 and July 2009. The study included 81 female and 21 male patients with an average age of 53.8 years (range, 43-62 years). Fifty patients underwent arthroscopic meniscectomy (meniscectomy group), and 52 patients underwent nonoperative treatment with strengthening exercises (nonoperative group). Functional outcomes were compared using a visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, Lysholm knee score, Tegner activity scale, and patient subjective knee pain and satisfaction. Radiological evaluations were performed using the Kellgren-Lawrence classification to evaluate osteoarthritic changes. In terms of clinical outcomes, meniscectomy did not provide better functional improvement than nonoperative treatment. At the final follow-up, the average VAS scores were 1.8 (range, 1-5) in the meniscectomy group and 1.7 (range, 1-4) in the nonoperative group (P = .675). The average Lysholm knee scores at 2-year follow-up were 83.2 (range, 52-100) and 84.3 (range, 58-100) in the meniscectomy and nonoperative groups, respectively (P = .237). In addition, the average Tegner activity scale and subjective satisfaction scores were not significantly different between the 2 groups. Although most patients initially had intense knee pain with mechanical symptoms, both groups reported a relief in knee pain, improved knee function, and a high level of satisfaction with treatment (P < .05 for all values). Two patients in the meniscectomy group and 3 in the nonoperative group with Kellgren-Lawrence grade 1 progressed to grade 2 at the 2-year follow-up. There were no significant differences between arthroscopic meniscectomy and nonoperative management with strengthening exercises in terms of relief in knee pain, improved knee function, or increased satisfaction in patients after 2 years of follow-up.

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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 2017

Publication date (Electronic): 11 May 2017

Volume: 2

Issue: 5

Pages: 195-203

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Centre Hospitalier de Versailles, 78150 Le Chesnay, France

[2 ]Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Hospital Brandenburg, Medical School Theodor Fontane, Hochstrasse 26, 14770 Brandburg/Havel, Germany

[3 ]Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery, Charité University Medicine, Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany

[4 ]Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Centre Hospitalier de Versailles, 78150 Le Chesnay, and Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, ISM, Inst Movement Sci, 13000 Marseille, France

[5 ]Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Centre Hospitalier de Versailles, 78150 Le Chesnay, France

Author notes

[*]Philippe Beaufils, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Centre Hospitalier de Versailles, 78150 Le Chesnay, France. Email: pbeaufils@ 123456ch-versailles.fr

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Publisher ID: 10.1302_2058-5241.2.160056

DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.2.160056

PMC ID: 5489759

PubMed ID: 28698804

SO-VID: ab9c97b0-0bb6-4677-9bfa-91feee8ab49d

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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 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.

The knee meniscus: management of traumatic tears and degenerative lesions

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Most cited references 43

A controlled trial of arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee.

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

A comparative study of meniscectomy and nonoperative treatment for degenerative horizontal tears of the medial meniscus.

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