Summary

The study compared the load distribution on the articular cartilage after medial meniscus root repair with transtibial pull out vs. suture anchor techniques.

Abstract

Introduction

Posterior medial meniscus root tear can lead to early osteoarthritis(OA). Repairing the torn meniscus yields a better outcome and prevents further OA change. This study compares the load distributed to the medial tibial articular cartilage in difference knee flexion angle after refixing posterior medial meniscus root tears (PMMRT) between the suture anchor and transtibial pullout techniques.

Methods

Twelve human cadaveric knees were used and divided into 3 groups
(4 knees in each group) ; (1)Intact meniscus (IM), (2)Fixation with suture anchor technique (SA) and (3)Fixation with transtibial pullout technique (TP). An axial compression load up to 1500 N by Instron E 10000 was applied at two knee flexion angles (0° and 60°) in each group. Tekscan 4000 pressure sensor was used to record peak contact pressure and contact area for each testing condition.

Results

The peak contact pressure and the contact area between the three conditions were not significantly different at 0° and 60° knee flexion angles. The peak contact pressure and contact area were 3734.8 ± 2642.2 kPa, 288.2 ± 115.0 mm2, 4510 ± 2930.5 kPa, 204.4 ± 36.8 mm2 and 5328.8 ± 2607.7 kPa, 219.2 ± 84.7 mm2 in IM, SA and TP, respectively.

Conclusion

Both suture anchor and transtibial pullout refixation of PMMRT can restore peak contact pressure and contact area similar to the intact meniscus.