Meniscus allograft transplantation and arthroscopy may delay progression to arthroplasty
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Key takeaways:
- Meniscal allograft transplantation and arthroscopy may delay progression to arthroplasty.
- The procedure also yielded significant improvements in pain relief and knee function.
Published results showed meniscal allograft transplantation combined with arthroscopic intervention may delay the need for arthroplasty, as well as improve pain relief and function for patients initially recommended for knee arthroplasty.
Kevin R. Stone, MD, founder and chair of the Stone Research Foundation in San Francisco, and colleagues performed a retrospective analysis of data from 86 patients (mean age, 55.8 years) who underwent 89 meniscal allograft transplantation in conjunction with an arthroscopic three-tunnel technique between 1997 and 2019. According to the study, two patients were lost to follow-up at 5 years postoperatively.
Stone and colleagues assessed IKDC scores and time from meniscus transplant to arthroplasty. They noted failed meniscal allograft transplantation was defined as allograft excision or revision, progression to arthroplasty or lack of pain relief.
At a mean follow-up of 8.64 years, 42 patients progressed to arthroplasty. At the time of final follow-up, 41 patients reported significant improvements in IKDC pain and function scores. Stone and colleagues found patients had sustained improvements in IKDC scores at 10-year follow-up, with 55.55% of patients achieving the minimal clinically important difference.
Stone and colleagues noted survival medians were higher among patients who received paste grafts and chondroplasty and were lower among patients who underwent osteotomy.
“Meniscus allografts in combination with other arthroscopic interventions delay knee arthroplasty and improve knee symptoms of pain and function in a population older than 50 years who are otherwise knee arthroplasty candidates,” Stone and colleagues wrote in the study.
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