2015 ISAKOS Biennial Congress ePoster #1632

Return to Play After All-Inside Meniscal Repair in Competitive Football Players: A Minimum 5-Year Follow-Up

Pedro Alvarez-Diaz, MD, PhD, Prof., Barcelona SPAIN
Eduard Alentorn-Geli, MD, PhD, MSc, FEBOT, FACGME, Barcelona SPAIN
Gilbert Steinbacher, MD, Viladecans , Barcelona SPAIN
Juancho Boffa, MD, Barcelona SPAIN
Marta Rius, MD, Barcelona, Barcelona SPAIN
Esther Sala, MD, Barcelona SPAIN
Roberto Seijas-Vazquez, MD, PhD, Prof., Barcelona SPAIN
Ramon Cugat Bertomeu, MD, PhD, Barcelona, Barcelona SPAIN

MUTUALIDAD DE FUTBOLISTAS ESPAÑOLES. DELEGACION CATALANA. FUNDACIÓN GARCIA CUGAT. HOSPITAL QUIRON. UIC, BARCELONA, SPAIN

FDA Status Cleared

Summary: Purpose The purpose of this study was to report the mid-to-long-term return to sports after all-inside meniscal repair in competitive football players. Methods All football players undergoing all-inside meniscal repair with a minimum Tegner activity score of 9 and minimum follow-up of 5 years were eligible for inclusion. Patients were excluded whenever they had ipsilateral or contralateral: meni

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Abstract:

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to report the mid-to-long-term return to sports after all-inside meniscal repair in competitive football players.

Methods

All football players undergoing all-inside meniscal repair with a minimum Tegner activity score of 9 and minimum follow-up of 5 years were eligible for inclusion. Patients were excluded whenever they had ipsilateral or contralateral: meniscectomy, posterior cruciate ligament tear, multi-ligament knee injuries, osteotomies, or meniscal transplant. Meniscal tears in the anterior horn and bucket-handle tears were also excluded. All patients included were contacted by phone and asked for current sport status or Tegner score. The preoperative Tegner score was collected from the medical charts.

Results

All patients (n=29) were men with a median (range) age of 27 (18-37) years and follow-up of 6 (5-8) years. All meniscal injuries were complete and longitudinal tears. The median pre-injury Tegner activity score was 9 (range 9-10). Two patients required revision arthroscopy (6.7%) with partial meniscectomy before being able to return to competitive football because of suture failure. Twenty-six patients (89.6%) returned to the same level of competition after recovering from surgery. At last follow-up, 13 patients (45%) were able to keep playing football at any level, and 8 (28%) of them were able to return to the same pre-injury competitive level. The main reasons to the decreased level of activity (from competitive to recreational) or give up football were changes in their personal life situation or job-related, but were not related to knee or meniscal disorders. Fourteen patients underwent meniscal repair alone, whereas 15 patients had an associated ACL reconstruction procedure. There were no significant differences in the collected variables between both subgroups.

Conclusions

All-inside meniscal repair allows for excellent return to football rates at a competitive level after recovering from surgery, but in the mid-to-long-term follow-up, only half of the patients are still playing football.