Abstract
A symptomatic meniscal tear is one of the most common problems treated by an orthopaedic
surgeon. Treatment ranges from observation to complete meniscectomy. Prior research
has shown that contact stresses increase within the joint compartment after partial
meniscectomy, thus leading to arthritis of the compartment. The purpose of the current
study was to determine the incidence of meniscal re-tears in two populations of patients
and identify potential factors predisposing to re-tear. A retrospective review of
our relational database identified 1,930 arthroscopic partial meniscectomies from
1993 to 2003. Meniscectomies were divided into two groups, 430 patients < 45 years
of age (YOUNG) and 712 patients ≥ 45 (OLD). Age, onset date, Lysholm, Tegner, tear
type, radial and circumferential location, as well as degree and location of chondromalacia,
were analyzed. Of the YOUNG group, 1.16% experienced re-tears, versus 0.42% of the
OLD group. From the younger re-tear group, 80% were chronic and 20% had grade 2 chondromalacia
in one compartment. The YOUNG re-tear group was slightly more active with higher Tegner
(5.6 vs. 4.3) and Lysholm (66.2 vs. 60) scores than the rest of the YOUNG group. The
OLD re-tear group was less active with a lower Tegner (2.5 vs. 4.1) and Lysholm (62
vs. 66) score compared with the rest of the older group. In this study, patients under
45 years and with chronic tears had slightly higher incidence of re-tears. Results
indicated that the lateral meniscus is more likely to re-tear.
Keywords
symptomatic meniscal re-tear - meniscectomy - radial zone - circumferential zone
