Purpose
In this imaging study, the radial displacement of meniscal allograft transplants (MATs),
inserted with 2 different techniques, namely open soft-tissue fixation and arthroscopic
bone tunnel fixation, was compared 1 year postoperatively.
Methods
In this study, 37 patients received MATs: 16 MATs (10 lateral and 6 medial) were inserted
by an open soft-tissue technique (open MATs), whereas 21 MATs (14 lateral and 7 medial)
were implanted by an arthroscopic bone tunnel procedure (arthroscopic MATs). Radial
displacement, in millimeters, was evaluated 1 year postoperatively on 1.5-T magnetic
resonance images. The number of MATs with radial displacement larger or smaller than
3 mm was determined. To compare radial displacement of open versus arthroscopic MATs,
the Mann-Whitney U test was used.
Results
The radial displacement of open lateral and medial MATs was significantly larger (all
reported P < .02) than that of arthros-copic MATs. In all cases, both open and arthroscopic,
the radial displacement of MATs was significantly larger (all reported P < .007) than that of normal menisci. Radial displacement of less than 3 mm was found
in 0 of 6 patients with open medial MATs versus 6 of 7 patients with arthroscopic
MATs and was found in 1 of 10 patients with open lateral MATs versus 4 of 14 patients
with arthroscopic MATs.
Conclusions
The radial displacement of MATs arthroscopically inserted with bone tunnel fixation
is significantly less than the radial displacement of MATs inserted with open soft-tissue
fixation. In addition, normal menisci displace significantly less than meniscal allografts.
The clinical importance of radial displacement remains to be determined.
Level of Evidence
Level III, retrospective comparative study.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
October 23,
2012
Received:
March 13,
2012
Footnotes
The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest in the authorship and publication of this article.
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
