Purpose
To determine whether an association exists between a biconcave medial tibial plateau
and complex medial meniscus tears.
Methods
A consecutive series of stable knees undergoing arthroscopy were evaluated retrospectively
with the use of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), radiographs, and arthroscopy
documented by intraoperative videos. Investigators independently performed blinded
reviews of the MRI or videos. Based on the arthroscopy findings, medial tibial plateaus
were classified as either biconcave or not biconcave. A transverse coronal plane ridge,
separating the front of the tibial plateau from the back near the inner margin of
the posterior body of the medial meniscus, was defined as biconcave. The medial plateau
slope was calculated with MRI sagittal views. General demographic information, body
mass index, and arthroscopically confirmed knee pathology were recorded.
Results
A total of 179 consecutive knees were studied from July 2014 through August 2015;
49 (27.2%) biconcave medial tibial plateaus and 130 (72.8%) controls were identified
at arthroscopy. Complex medial meniscus tears were found in 103. Patients with a biconcave
medial tibial plateau were found to have more complex medial meniscus tears (69.4%)
than those without a biconcavity (53.1%) (P = .049) despite having lower body mass index (P = .020). No difference in medial tibial plateau slope was observed for biconcavities
involving both cartilage and bone, bone only, or an indeterminate group (P = .47).
Conclusions
Biconcave medial tibial plateaus were present in 27.4% of a consecutive series of
patients undergoing knee arthroscopy. A biconcave medial tibial plateau was more frequently
associated with a complex medial meniscus tear.
Level of Evidence
Level III, case-control study.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 16, 2016
Accepted:
September 26,
2016
Received:
April 30,
2016
Footnotes
The authors report the following potential conflicts of interest or sources of funding: F.A.B. receives funding from the F. Alan Barber, M.D., F.A.C.S. Research Fund; DePuy-Mitek (payment for lectures including service on speakers bureaus, patents, royalties, payment for development of educational presentations, travel/accommodations/meeting expenses); Linvatec (payment for lectures including service on speakers bureaus, payment for development of educational presentations, and travel/accommodations/meeting expenses); Arthrex (patents); and Johnson and Johnson (stock). M.H.G. receives funding from Smith & Nephew, DePuy Mitek, and DJO (grants) and Wolters Kluwer (royalties).
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 by the Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier. All rights reserved.
