All-Inside Repair Tethered to the Popliteal Tendon is an Effective and Safe Option For the Treatment of Unstable Lateral Meniscus Injuries
V.B.C. De Padua, E.S. Mameri, J.L.R. De Faria, P.B. Jorge, E.T. Rodrigues, C.E.D.S. FrancioziObjective:
To evaluate clinical outcomes, failure rates, and complications following all-inside lateral meniscus repair tethered to the popliteal tendon in patients with unstable lateral meniscus injuries.
Methods:
This retrospective case series included patients who underwent arthroscopic lateral meniscus repair tethered to the popliteal tendon using anchor-based all-inside device , with a ≥12months follow-up. Outcomes included failure and reoperation rates, complications, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs), including the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Lysholm, and Tegner scores. Patient acceptable symptomatic state (PASS) for IKDC was defined as ≥69.0. In patients with available paired preoperative and postoperative IKDC scores, improvement and minimal clinically important difference (MCID) achievement were assessed.
Results:
Forty-eight patients with a mean age of 30.9±10.9 years were included, with a mean follow-up of 35.1±13.2 months. Thirty-six patients underwent concomitant ACL reconstruction while 12 underwent isolated meniscal repair. Two patients required revision surgery for repair failure, corresponding to a 4.1% failure rate. No complications related to suture placement in the popliteal tendon were observed. At final follow-up, mean IKDC and Lysholm scores were 73.1 ± 16.9 and 84.5 ± 14.6, respectively, with 66.7% of patients achieving IKDC PASS. In the subset with paired IKDC data (n=20), mean improvement was 36.1±21.1points (p<0.001), and 85% achieved MCID. No significant difference was observed between pre-injury and postoperative Tegner scores.
Conclusion:
All-inside lateral meniscus repair tethered to the popliteal tendon represents an effective option for unstable lateral meniscus tears, with favorable short-to-midterm clinical outcomes and safety - exhibiting low failure rates, and no tendon-related complications.