scholarly journals GROWTH OF THE PEDIATRIC KNEE MENISCUS: A CADAVERIC STUDY

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7_suppl3) ◽  
pp. 2325967121S0005
Author(s):  
Brian Vuong ◽  
Nicole Segovia ◽  
Sahej Randhawa ◽  
Sunny Trivedi ◽  
Emily Tran ◽  
...  

Background: The menisci of the knee play a critical role in maintaining structural integrity, as well as in load bearing and shock absorption. In adolescent patients, meniscal tear is a very common sports injury, and is frequently associated with concomitant traumatic injuries including tibial eminence fracture or ACL tear. The incidence of pediatric meniscal tears is increasing, and anatomic studies to guide repair, saucerization and transplantation do not exist. Hypothesis/Purpose: This study’s purpose was to evaluate meniscus dimensions in the developing meniscus and provide anatomic parameters for repair, saucerization, resection, transplantation. Methods: From images of 29 dissected cadaveric knee specimens between 1 month and 132 months of age obtained on a copy stand (14 left knee, 15 right knee), we made direct length measurements from the inner to outer meniscus rim at 45 degree intervals (12, 1:30/10:30, 3:00/9:00, 4:30/7:30 o’clock, 6 o’clock) using Autodesk Fusion 360 software (Figure 1.1). We also measured width between the outer medial and lateral meniscus rims, as well as CT measurements of coronal and sagittal width of the tibial plateau using OsiriX DICOM software. Generalized linear models were used to evaluate the associations of meniscal length measurements with age, tibial width, and meniscal width measurements. All statistical analyses were completed with a two-sided level of significance of 0.05. Results: All radial length measurements were predicted to increase significantly with age (p < 0.01), as coronal tibial width increases (p < 0.05), and as lateral-medial meniscal width increases (p < 0.001) (Figure 1.2). Other than the lateral 3 o’clock measurement (p = 0.119), all radial measurements were predicted to increase significantly as sagittal tibial width increases (p < 0.05). The posterior zones of the medial meniscus (6:00, 4:30/7:30) were found to increase in radial length at a faster rate than the anterior zones. The anterior zones of the medial meniscus (12:00, 1:30/10:30) had the slowest rate of growth. Discussion/Conclusion: Meniscus radial length is related to age, tibial plateau width, and lateral-medial meniscus width. Radial dimensions from normal lateral menisci may allow the surgeon to obtain ideal size of resection, saucerization of discoid menisci. The growth of medial meniscus posterior zones is greater than the anterior zones. This may be attributed to increased posterior region load bearing which increases with ambulation in the developing child. Improved anatomic understanding may help surgeons plan for discoid resection/saucerization/repair, and also support appropriate selection of meniscus allograft for transplantation. [Figure: see text][Figure: see text]

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7_suppl6) ◽  
pp. 2325967120S0044
Author(s):  
Brian Vuong ◽  
Nicole Segovia ◽  
Sahej Randhawa ◽  
Sunny Trivedi ◽  
Emily Tran ◽  
...  

Objectives: The menisci of the knee (Figure 1) play a critical role in maintaining structural integrity, as well as in load bearing and shock absorption. In adolescent patients, meniscal tear is a very common sports injury, and is frequently associated with concomitant traumatic injuries including tibial eminence fracture or ACL tear. Depending on the severity of meniscal tear, surgical treatment options include arthroscopic partial or total meniscectomy, with a reported 78-88% success rate. Given the high incidence of pediatric meniscal injuries and reliance on landmarks to guide arthroscopic meniscus repair, surprisingly few human pediatric cadaveric studies are reported in the current literature. The primary purpose of our research was to evaluate the rates at which different zones of the meniscus rim lengthen with age during early adolescence. Our null hypothesis was that meniscus rim length is unrelated to patient age, tibial plateau width, or to lateral-medial meniscus width. Methods: From images of 29 dissected cadaveric knee specimens between 1 month and 132 months of age obtained on a copy stand (14 left knee, 15 right knee), we made direct length measurements from the inner to outer meniscus rim at 45 degree intervals (12, 1:30/10:30, 3:00/9:00, 4:30/7:30 o’clock, 6 o’clock) using Autodesk Fusion 360 software (Figure 2). We also measured width between the outer medial and lateral meniscus rims, as well as CT measurements of coronal and sagittal width of the tibial plateau using OsiriX DICOM software. Generalized linear models were used to evaluate the associations of meniscal length measurements with age, tibial width, and meniscal width measurements. All statistical analyses were completed with a two-sided level of significance of 0.05. Results: All meniscal length measurements were predicted to increase significantly as age increases (p < 0.01 for all), as coronal tibial width increases (p < 0.05 for all), and as lateral-medial meniscal width increases (p < 0.001 for all). Other than the lateral 3 o’clock measurement (p = 0.119), all meniscal length measurements were predicted to increase significantly as sagittal tibial width increases (p < 0.05 for the rest). Interestingly, the posterior zones of the medial meniscus (6 o’clock and 4:30/7:30 o’clock) were found to increase in length at a faster rate than the anterior zones (Figure 3), which supports our hypothesis that increased weight bearing is correlated with meniscus growth. The same length correlation was not identified in the lateral meniscus. Furthermore, the anterior zones of the medial meniscus (12 o’clock and 1:30/10:30 o’clock) were found to have the slowest rate of growth, presumably due to reduced weight bearing function anteriorly. Conclusions: We reject our null hypothesis that meniscus rim length is unrelated to age, tibial plateau width, or to lateral-medial meniscus width. Surprisingly, the posterior zones of the medial meniscus were found to grow at a faster rate with age compared to the anterior zones, which we attribute to the effect of increased weight bearing experienced by the posterior zones during knee bending exercise. Additionally, the anterior, lesser-weight bearing regions of the medial meniscus were found to develop at the slowest rate out of all zones measured. Further studies are underway to generalize these observations to all adolescent patients. This information will be useful for meniscus repair and transplantation surgical planning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7_suppl3) ◽  
pp. 2325967121S0010
Author(s):  
Brett Heldt ◽  
Elsayed Attia ◽  
Raymond Guo ◽  
Indranil Kushare ◽  
Theodore Shybut

Background: Acute anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) rupture is associated with a significant incidence of concomitant meniscal and chondral injuries. However, to our knowledge, the incidence of these concomitant injuries in skeletally immature(SI) versus skeletally mature(SM) patients has not been directly compared. SI patients are a unique subset of ACL patients because surgical considerations are different, and subsequent re-tear rates are high. However, it is unclear if the rates and types of meniscal and chondral injuries differ. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare associated meniscal and chondral injury patterns between SI and SM patients under age 21, treated with ACL reconstruction for an acute ACL tear. We hypothesized that no significant differences would be seen. Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective review of primary ACL reconstructions performed from January 2012 to April 2020. Patients were stratified by skeletal maturity status based on a review of records and imaging. Demographic data was recorded, including age, sex, and BMI. Associated intra-articular meniscal injury, including laterality, location, configuration, and treatment were determined. Articular cartilage injury location, grade, and treatments were determined. Revision rates, non-ACL reoperation rates, and time to surgery were also compared between the two groups. Results: 785 SM and 208 SI patients met inclusion criteria. Mean BMI and mean age were significantly different between groups. Meniscal tear rates were significantly greater in SM versus SI patients in medial meniscus tears(P<.001), medial posterior horn tears(P=.001), medial longitudinal tears configuration(P=.007), lateral Radial configuration(P=.002), and lateral complex tears(P=.011). Medial repairs(P<.001) and lateral partial meniscectomies(P=.004) were more likely in the SM group. There was a significantly greater number of chondral injuries in the SM versus SI groups in the Lateral(p=.007) and medial compartments(P<.001). SM patients had a significantly increased number of outerbridge grade 1 and 2 in the Lateral(P<.001) and Medial Compartments(P=.013). ACL revisions(P=.019) and Non-ACL reoperations(P=.002) were significantly greater in the SI patients compared to SM. No other significant differences were noted. Conclusion: SM ACL injured patients have a significantly higher rate of medial meniscus tears and medial longitudinal configurations treated with repair, and a significantly higher rate of radial and/or complex lateral meniscus tears treated with partial meniscectomy compared to the SI group. We also found a significantly higher rate of both medial and lateral compartment chondral injuries, mainly grades 1 and 2, in SM compared to SI patients. Conversely, SI ACL reconstruction patients had higher revision and subsequent non-ACL surgery rates.


1997 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 876-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Breitenseher ◽  
S. Trattni ◽  
I. Dobrocky ◽  
C. Kukla ◽  
S. Nehrer ◽  
...  

Purpose: The aim of this study was to establish diagnostic criteria for meniscal subluxation, and to determine whether there was any connection between meniscal subluxation and other common meniscal and knee-joint abnormalities. Material and Methods: The normal position of the meniscal body was assessed in 10 asymptomatic volunteers. MR signs of meniscal subluxation were evaluated retrospectively in 60 symptomatic patients with pain in the knee, impaired mobility, and/or joint swelling who had no clear diagnosis after the evaluation of case history, clinical examination, and radiography. The criterion for subluxation of the meniscus was defined as a distance of ≥3 mm between the peripheral border of the meniscus and the edge of the tibial plateau. Results: In the volunteers, the mean distance from the medial meniscus to the edge of the tibial plateau was 0.07 mm, and that from the lateral meniscus was 0 mm. In 55 symptomatic patients without meniscal subluxation, the mean distance from.the meniscus to the edge of the tibial plateau was 0.27 mm. Five patients (8%) had evidence of meniscal subluxation, 4 in the medial meniscus and one in the lateral meniscus. The most commonly associated knee abnormality was joint effusion in 5 knees and osteoarthritis in 2 knees. Conclusion: Meniscal subluxation was not a rare finding with MR imaging in patients with painful knees. Meniscal subluxation was associated with other knee abnormalities such as joint effusion or osteoarthritis.


2010 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 296-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter Van Dyck ◽  
Filip M. Vanhoenacker ◽  
Jan L. Gielen ◽  
Lieven Dossche ◽  
Joost Weyler ◽  
...  

Background: The significance of borderline magnetic resonance (MR) findings that are equivocal for a tear of the knee meniscus remains uncertain. Given their higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and greater spatial resolution, these equivocal meniscal tears could be expected to be less frequent using a 3.0T MR system. Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of equivocal meniscal tears using 3.0T MR, and to study their impact on MR accuracy compared with arthroscopy in the detection of meniscal tears. Material and Methods: The medical records of 100 patients who underwent 3.0T MR imaging and subsequent arthroscopy of the knee were retrospectively reviewed. Two observers interpreted MR images in consensus, and menisci were diagnosed as torn (abnormality on two or more images), equivocal for a tear (abnormality on one image), or intact, using arthroscopy as the standard of reference. The prevalence of equivocal meniscal tears was assessed, and MR accuracy was calculated as follows: first, considering both torn menisci and equivocal diagnoses as positive for a tear; and second, considering only torn menisci as positive for a tear. Results: Evidence of meniscal tears on MR images was equivocal in 12 medial (12%) and three lateral (3%) menisci. Of these equivocal MR diagnoses, tears were found at arthroscopy in eight medial and one lateral meniscus. In our study, the specificity and positive predictive value increased for both the medial and lateral meniscus when only menisci with two or more abnormal images were considered to be torn: from 80% and 89% to 91% and 94% for the medial meniscus, and from 91% and 73% to 93% and 78% for the lateral meniscus, respectively. Conclusion: Subtle findings that are equivocal for a tear of the knee meniscus still make MR diagnosis difficult, even at 3.0T. We recommend that radiologists should rather be descriptive in reporting subtle or equivocal MR findings, alerting the clinician of possible meniscal tear.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (11) ◽  
pp. 1128-1132
Author(s):  
Kun-Hui Chen ◽  
En-Rung Chiang ◽  
Hsin-Yi Wang ◽  
Hsiao-Li Ma

AbstractThe incidence of meniscal tear was reported to increase with the delay of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). The tear may occur concurrently with the ACL injury or after the ACL injury. Few studies had focused on the patients whose meniscus is intact during ACL injury. We determined the correlation between timing of surgery and incidence of meniscal tears in ACL-deficient knees with initially intact meniscus. We retrospectively reviewed 387 patients who had undergone primary ACLR. Time of initial ACL injury, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination, and surgery was recorded. The MRI was reviewed by experienced radiologic and orthopaedic doctors. Intraoperative arthroscopic images were also obtained and reviewed. The type of tear noted during surgery was classified according to the modification of International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine classification of meniscal tears. Patients were divided into early (surgery within 12 months from injury) and late surgery group (surgery at more than 12 months from injury). There were 216 patients with intact medial meniscus and 257 patients with intact lateral meniscus on the postinjury MRI study. The incidence of medial meniscus tear (MMT) was significantly higher than lateral meniscus tear (LMT) during the ACLR (33.8 vs. 19.8%, p < 0.001). The incidence of MMT is higher in late group than in early group (53.7 vs. 29.1%, p = 0.004, odds ratio= 2.815). The incidence of LMT is mildly higher in late group but without statistics significance (23.8 vs. 18.6%, p = 0.364). In both MMT and LMT, the most common injury pattern observed was a longitudinal tear. The incidence of each type is not different between early and late group. For patients without concurrent meniscal injuries with the ACL tear, the incidence of MMT significantly increased if ACLR was performed more than 12 months after injury. The medial meniscus was more prone to injury than the lateral meniscus in chronic ACL-deficient knee. ACLR should be performed earlier to reduce the risk of meniscal tears for patients without initially concurrent meniscal tear.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 3340-3342
Author(s):  
Om C. Wadhokar

Knee joint is type of hinge joint Knee joint consist of medial menisci and lateral menisci. Menisci plays an important role to maintain healthy cartilage. Medial meniscus commonly injured than lateral meniscus due to it is relatively lack of mobility. A case of 32 year female is presented in this report. Patient complaints of pain in medial side of right knee joint, inability to stand for longer time, restriction in daily activities. McMurray test was done and diagnosed medial meniscus tear. Physiotherapy treatment is mentioned in this report. The study conclude that there is significant improvement in range of motion , muscle strength , can able to perform activities of daily living with the help of physiotherapy treatment without any surgical approach.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7_suppl6) ◽  
pp. 2325967120S0036
Author(s):  
Karen Briggs ◽  
Stephanie Petterson ◽  
Kevin Plancher

Objectives: Recent studies have described increased risk of OA following ACL reconstruction (ACLR). Systematic reviews have suggested that meniscal pathology, which occurs in up to 60% of patients with ACL injury, increases this risk. The literature reports a 50% incidence of OA following medial meniscectomy, two times the risk compared to lateral meniscectomy. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of meniscal pathology on the incidence of OA following ACLR. Methods: All patients who underwent primary autograft or allograft BPTB transtibial ACLR by a single surgeon between 1999-2015 were identified. Revision ACLR, multi-ligamentous reconstructions, and patients with less than 2-year imaging follow-up were excluded. Meniscus pathology and treatment were recorded. OA was defined at follow-up as Kellgren-Lawrence grade III-IV on plain radiographs. Chi-square tests assessed differences in incidence rates (p<0.05). Results: A consecutive series of 103 patients (56 males, 47 females; age 36.1±11.4 years) with BPTB ACLR with an average follow-up of 8.81±4.96 (range 2-20 years) were included. The prevalence of medial meniscus tears at the time of ACL injury was 47.6% (49/103) and prevalence of lateral meniscus tears was 56.3% (58/103) (p=0.166). Medial compartment OA was seen in 9.7% (10/103) of patients. Prevalence of medial compartment OA was greater in patients with medial meniscus tear (14.3%; 7/49) compared to those without a medial meniscus tear (5.6%; 3/54); however, this was not significant (p=0.135). Of the 7 patients with medial meniscal tear and medial compartment OA, 5 underwent partial medial meniscectomy and 2 underwent repair. Lateral compartment OA was seen in 14.6% (15/103). The prevalence of lateral compartment OA was greater in patients with a lateral meniscus tear (22.4%; 13/58) compared to patients without lateral meniscus tears (4.4%; 2/45) (p=0.01). Patients with lateral meniscus tear were 5.04 [95%CI: 1.2 to 21.2] times more likely to develop OA. Thirteen of the 47 (28%) patients that underwent partial lateral meniscectomy developed lateral OA compared to 0% of patients (0/10) that underwent lateral meniscal repair (p=0.068). Conclusion: While studies with multiple surgeons and rehabilitation protocols have shown the development of OA following ACLR is increased with medial meniscal pathology, we found that the prevalence of medial OA was not significantly higher in these patients with medial meniscal tear at an average of 8.81 years follow-up. Whereas, lateral meniscal repair dramatically reduced the development of knee OA compared to partial meniscectomy in this cohort of patients with ACLR. These findings can inform clinical practice as despite prior literature indicating a relationship between medial meniscal tear and osteoarthritis, we did not see a greater prevalence of OA amongst patients undergoing ACLR with a medial meniscal tear. Further, a lateral meniscal repair offers superior protection against OA when compared to partial lateral meniscectomy in treating lateral meniscal tears and is essential in the treatment of these complex patients.


Author(s):  
Kevin Kaplan

Once thought to be a functionless, vestigial structure, the meniscus is known to be an important load bearing and shock-absorbing structure in the knee. The lateral meniscus absorbs 70% of the load in the lateral compartment and the medial meniscus absorbs 50% of the load in the medial compartment. In addition, it has a secondary role in stabilization of the knee in conjunction with the major ligamentous restraints. Vascular supply to the meniscus is provided by branches from the geniculate arteries that penetrate into approximately 10–30% of its periphery through permeniscal capillary channels (Figure I). The remainder of the meniscus obtains nutrition through diffusion or mechanical pumping.


Author(s):  
Andi Haris ◽  
Vincent Beng Chye Tan

The purpose of this study was to determine stress envelopes for an intact tibiofemoral joint and to study how they vary with knee loading, external–internal rotation, varus–valgus rotation and cartilage degradation (osteoarthritis) using the finite element method. The envelopes were presented in terms of knee flexion angle. The maximum von Mises stress for all tibiofemoral joint components increased with increasing the axial compressive force magnitude. Menisci exhibited the highest magnitude of maximum von Mises stress as compared to the femoral and tibial cartilages. In a range of flexion angles between 0° and 100°, the medial meniscus exhibited the highest maximum von Mises stress than the lateral meniscus and the stress in medial meniscus tended to increase with increasing the flexion angle. External–internal and varus–valgus rotations changed the stress distribution: higher stress on lateral compartment but lower stress on medial compartment, and conversely. The internal rotation provided more extreme effect than the external rotation. For the knee osteoarthritis, cartilage degradation (early stage) caused maximum von Mises stress to increase on the intact menisci revealing that knee osteoarthritis could also cause meniscal tear. The late osteoarthritis caused the maximum von Mises stress to increase on the calcified cartilage and subchondral bone.


1988 ◽  
Vol 01 (03/04) ◽  
pp. 152-154
Author(s):  
S. Johnson ◽  
D. Hulse

degenerative changes of the involved stifle joint associated with a “bucket handle” tear of the caudal body of the lateral meniscus. Surgical excision of the torn section of meniscus was beneficial in the first patient but this patient had persistant difficulty with the leg after exercise. Gross and microscopic pathology of the involved stifle in the second patient showed the meniscal lesion to be associated with severe cartilage fibrillation of the overlying lateral femoral condyle. As in human beings, the mechanism of injury may have been placement of the foot during vigorous external rotation of the femur with the stifle flexed. Extension of the limb from this position could have resulted in an isolated tear of the lateral meniscus.


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