Abstract
PurposeMeniscectomy results in poor knee function and increased risk for osteoarthritis. Meniscal allograft transplantation is not widely used due to costs and availability. The semitendinosus tendon (ST) has the potential to remodel and revascularize in an intraarticular environment, such as ACL reconstruction. The objective for this pilot study was to investigate whether the ST graft could function as a meniscal transplant.MethodsThe ST was doubled and sutured with running sutures and pull-out sutures in each end. Bone tunnels were used for root anchorage and the graft was sutured with allinside, inside-out and outside-in technique. The pull-out sutures were fixed over a button. Partial weight bearing was allowed with limited range of motion in a brace for the first 6 weeks. Evaluation was assessed using clinical examination, radiology and patient reported outcome.ResultsA total of seven patients have been included between January 2018 and June 2020. Six medial transplants and one lateral transplant were performed. Mean age was 29 years. Four patients had completed the 12-month follow-up. Improvements were noted for IKDC Global Score, KOOS pain subscale and Lysholm. MRI indicated that the transplant become more wedge-like with visible roots and minor protrusion.ConclusionsEven though this is primarily a technical report the follow-up data indicate that the transplant survives and adapts in shape and capabilities to an original meniscus. There were no adverse events and the patients seem to improve in terms of pain and quality of life.
Highlights
Meniscal injuries are common, and removal of meniscal tissue has been linked to poorer knee function and a significantly increased risk of developing osteoarthritis [1, 3, 21, 27,28,29, 35, 39]
The hypothesis for this study is that the semitendinosus tendon graft can function as a meniscal transplant after total or subtotal meniscectomy, and that patients receiving a neomeniscus with semitendinosus tendon experience less post meniscectomy symptoms
Seven patients were included between January 2018 and June 2020
Summary
Removal of meniscal tissue has been linked to poorer knee function and a significantly increased risk of developing osteoarthritis [1, 3, 21, 27,28,29, 35, 39]. Several studies have reported relatively successful results following MAT. Kohn et al [16] have reported chondroprotective effects using a patellar tendon autograft as a meniscal transplant after meniscectomy in an animal study. They reported successful results for both healing and cartilage protection in a clinical study using part of the quadriceps tendon as meniscal autograft transplant [16, 17]. The hypothesis for this study is that the semitendinosus tendon graft can function as a meniscal transplant after total or subtotal meniscectomy, and that patients receiving a neomeniscus with semitendinosus tendon experience less post meniscectomy symptoms
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