Tibiofemoral Contact Mechanics With Horizontal Cleavage Tears and Treatment of the Lateral Meniscus in the Human Knee: An In Vitro Cadaver Study.

CONCLUSIONS: Resection of the inferior leaf or both leaves of the lateral meniscus after a horizontal cleavage tear resulted in decreased contact area and increased peak contact pressure at 0° and 60° knee flexion.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In vitro resection of one or both leaves of a horizontal cleavage tear of the lateral meniscus causes increases in peak pressure, consistent with other types of partial meniscectomies associated in a clinical setting with excessive loading and damage to knee cartilage. Clinical outcomes in patients undergoing partial leaf meniscectomy could confirm this theory. Avoidance of resection may be relatively beneficial for long-term function. The findings of this in vitro study lend biomechanical support for nonoperative management.
PMID: 30188343 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research - September 4, 2018 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Koh JL, Zimmerman TA, Patel S, Ren Y, Xu D, Zhang LQ Tags: Clin Orthop Relat Res Source Type: research