2015 ISAKOS Biennial Congress ePoster #1613

Biomechanical Changes in Posterior Root Avulsion of the Lateral Meniscus

Alejandro Espejo-Reina, MD, MSc, Málaga, Málaga SPAIN
Daniel Amat-Trujillo, MD, PhD, Málaga SPAIN
Maria Belen Martín-Castilla, MD, Málaga, Málaga SPAIN
Clara Quintero-López, MD, Málaga, Málaga SPAIN
María Prado-Novoa, MEng, PhD, Málaga, Málaga SPAIN
Francisco Ezquerro-Juanco, PhD, Málaga, Málaga SPAIN
Ana Pérez-De La Blanca, PhD, Málaga SPAIN
Alejandro Espejo-Baena, MD, Málaga, Málaga SPAIN

Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Victoria. Facultad de Medicina UMA. ETS Ingeniería Industrial UMA., Málaga, Málaga, SPAIN

FDA Status Not Applicable

Summary: Posterior root avulsion of the lateral meniscus yields similar biomechanical changes to those found after total meniscectomy and its repair restores joint biomechanics to a situation with intact meniscus.

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Abstract:

Aim

To check changes in pressure and contact area in cadaveric knees after posterior meniscal root avulsion of lateral menicus and after repairing this injury, and to compare this results with a healthy knee and with a knee after total meniscectomy.

MATERIAL & METHODS
Six healthy cadaveric knees were used for this study. Each specimen was attached to the testing machine. Four situations on lateral meniscus were tested as follows: 1. Intact meniscus (IM); 2. Posterior root avulsion (PRA); 3. Repaired meniscus after avulsion (RM); 4. Total meniscectomy (TM).
Every specimen underwent axial load of 1000 N in full extension for each situation. The force applied by the machine was measured using a 5-kN load cell (HBM, Darmstadt, Germany). Pressure distribution in both medial and lateral compartments of the tibio-femoral joint was measured using knee specific pressure sensors (K-scan 4000, Tekscan Inc., Boston, MA).

Results

Peak pressure values on the lateral compartment showed a 59.4% increase PRA, compared to the IM situation. This increase was even higher (124%) when IM situation was compared to TM. Peak pressure values were similar to the IM situation when comparing it to the RM situation.

Contact area values on the lateral meniscus decreased a 27.3% with PRA when compared to the values in IM situation. Contact area was even smaller when TM was performed (a 56.5% decrease). Contact area was restored when testing the RM situation, but it remained a 14.1% decrease when compared to the IM situation.

Conclusions

Posterior root avulsion of the lateral meniscus yields similar biomechanical changes to those that occur in a knee with a total meniscectomy. Repairing this injury restores joint biomechanics to a situation similar to the healthy knee with intact lateral meniscus.