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Graft extrusion greater after medial vs. lateral MAT, unrelated to early clinical outcomes
Recently published data indicated the amount and occurrences of graft extrusion were greater after medial meniscus allograft transplantation compared with lateral meniscus allograft transplantation; however, graft extrusion was not linked to patients’ early clinical outcomes after either procedure.
Researchers compared the outcomes of 51 patients who underwent medial meniscus allograft transplantation (MAT) and 84 patients who underwent lateral MAT. The mean age was 35 years for the medial MAT group and 34 years for the lateral MAT group.
Using immediate postoperative MRIs, the researchers assessed and compared the distances from the anterior and posterior articular cartilage margins (ACMD, PCMD) to the anterior and posterior horns between the two groups. The researchers also compared correlations between coronal and sagittal graft extrusion, as well as between extrusion and the Lysholm score. Mean follow-up for the medial and lateral groups was 26 months and 25 months, respectively.
Results showed Lysholm scores were significantly higher at 2 years postoperatively compared with preoperative scores in both the medial MAT (91.4 vs. 73.5) and lateral MAT (90.7vs. 71.9) groups.
MRI showed graft extrusions were significantly greater in the medial MAT group than in lateral MAT group in the coronal plane, according to the researchers. Additionally, mean absolute and relative ACMD and PCMD values were found to be significantly greater in the medial MAT group vs. the lateral MAT group in the sagittal plane.
The mean absolute and relative ACMD values were greater than PCMD values in both medial and lateral MAT. Overall, graft extrusions were larger and more frequent for medial MAT in both the coronal and sagittal planes compared with lateral MAT. However, graft extrusions were not associated with patients’ postoperative Lysholm scores in either the medial or lateral MAT groups, according to the researchers. – by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosure: This study (2012-0001308) was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. This work was also supported by Korea University grants (K1326281).