Abstract
We retrospectively studied 16 knees in 16 patients who had undergone meniscal repair surgery for solitary lateral meniscal tear, excluding discoid meniscus and concurrent ligament injuries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the causes of the injury, clinical symptoms, preoperative MR imaging findings, intraoperative findings, and postoperative clinical results in these cases.
The etiology of the tear was sports-related trauma in 9, standing motion from a squatting position in 5, and no obvious cause in 2. The clinical symptoms were knee pain and locking in 14, and catching and discomfort in 2.
Tears had occurred in the peripheral region of the posterolateral corner or popliteomeniscal fascicle of the lateral meniscus in all cases.
Surgery was performed using the Inside-out technique in 4 cases, the All-inside technique in 2, and both in 9. Up to now, none of the cases have recurred.
The mechanism responsible for solitary meniscal tear is considered to be repeat impingement of the lateral meniscus. Since it is difficult to diagnose such a tear only by MRI, each case has to be judged on the basis of clinical symptoms, clinical course and MRI findings.
As repeat damage to the lateral meniscus can be a cause of tears, attention must be paid to the risk of re-tear, and long-term observation is advisable.
