Total meniscectomy in adolescents : a forty year follow-up

Pengas, IP; Assiotis, A; Nash, W; Hatcher, J; Banks, J; McNicholas, M

Abstract

We continued a prospective longitudinal follow-up study of 53 remaining patients who underwent open total meniscectomy as adolescents and who at that time had no other intra-articular pathology of the knee. Their clinical, radiological and patient-reported outcomes are described at a mean follow-up of 40 years (33 to 50). The cohort of patients who had undergone radiological evaluation previously after 30 years were invited for clinical examination, radiological evaluation and review using two patient-reported outcome measures. A total of seven patients (13.2%) had already undergone total knee replacement at the time of follow-up. A significant difference was observed between the operated and non-operated knee in terms of range of movement and osteoarthritis of the tibiofemoral joint, indicating a greater than fourfold relative risk of osteoarthritis at 40 years post-operatively. All patients were symptomatic as defined by the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score. This study represents the longest follow-up to date and it can be concluded that meniscectomy leads to symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee later in life, with a resultant 132-fold increase in the rate of total knee replacement in comparison to their geographical and age-matched peers.

Citation

Pengas, I., Assiotis, A., Nash, W., Hatcher, J., Banks, J., & McNicholas, M. (2012). Total meniscectomy in adolescents : a forty year follow-up. Bone and Joint Journal, 94-B(12), 1649-1654. https://doi.org/10.1302/0301-620X.94B12.30562

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2012
• Deposit Date: Aug 4, 2020
• Journal: Bone and Joint Journal
• Print ISSN: 2049-4394
• Electronic ISSN: 2049-4408
• Publisher: British Editorial Society of Bone and Joint Surgery
• Volume: 94-B
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 1649-1654
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1302/0301-620X.94B12.30562
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1302/0301-620X.94B12.30562
• Related Public URLs: https://online.boneandjoint.org.uk/journal/bjj