Purpose

Current literature reporting the failure rate of meniscus repairs is varied, with little information reporting the incidence of meniscal repair failure at specific timepoints post-surgery. Hence, we propose that a pooled analysis of studies on meniscus repair outcomes will provide an accurate estimate of what outcomes can be expected following a meniscal repair at specific postoperative timepoints.

Methods

A meta-analysis of meniscal repair failure (defined as persistent symptoms, lack of healing on MRI or revision surgery) and other clinical outcomes was performed following meniscal repair. Patient included had traumatic, non-degenerative meniscal tears, were skeletally mature, and had specific time-points after surgery. Repairs included were performed either in isolation, or with concomitant ACL reconstruction. Prior to pooling, binary outcome data underwent a Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation in order to stabilize the variance, as well as to account for zero events. Due to the inherent heterogeneity of single-arm meta-analyses, pooled analyses were performed utilizing the DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model.

Results

Rates of all-cause meniscal repair failure was pooled to be 12% at 0-1 years (95% CI: 0.09-0.16), 15% at 2-3 years (95% CI: 0.11-0.20), and 19% at 4-6 years (95% CI: 0.13-0.24). After sensitivity analysis, pooled rates of failure incidence were relatively comparable at 11% at 0-1 years (95% CI: 0.08-0.13) and 15% at 2-3 years (95% CI: 0.08-0.22) following surgery. Development of osteoarthritis (OA), in patients with knees previously free from articular pathologies, was 4% at 2-3 years (95% CI: 0.02-0.07), and 10% at 4-6 years (95% CI: 0.03-0.25). Rates of reoperation were observed to be 12% at 0-1 years (95% CI: 0.08-0.17), 15% at 2-3 years (95% CI: 0.05-0.28). The return to pre-injury levels of activity in patients was 46% at 0-1 years (95% CI: 0.30-0.62), 88% at 2-3 years (95% CI: 0.79-0.95), and 96% beyond six years (95% CI: 0.81-0.99).

Conclusion

Meniscus repair for traumatic injuries have an all-cause failure rate that increases from 12% to 19% through one to six years following surgery. With these pooled estimates of outcomes following meniscus repair, a case can be made for more prospective studies to be performed, investigating the long-term final outcomes following meniscus repair.