OUTCOME OF TREATMENT FOLLOWING PRIMARY ARTHROSCOPIC REPAIR OF BUCKET HANDLE MENISCUS TEARS IN ADULTS

Abstract

AimsWe studied the outcomes following arthroscopic primary repair of bucket handle meniscus tears to determine the incidence of re-tears and the functional outcomes of these patients.MethodologyProspective cohort study. Over a 4-year period (2016 to 2020), 35 adult patients presented with a bucket handle tear of the meniscus. Arthroscopic meniscal repair was performed using either the all inside technique or a combination of all-inside and inside-out techniques. 15 patients also underwent simultaneous arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Functional knee scores were assessed using IKDC and Lysholm scores.ResultsMean patient age at surgery was 27 years (range, 17 to 53years). Medial meniscus was torn in 20 and lateral in 15 cases. Zone of tear was white on white in 19, red on white in 9 and red on red in 7 cases. Average delay from injury to surgery was 4 months. At a mean follow-up of 4.5 years, the meniscus repair failed in 3 patients (8.5 %). Outcome following re-tear was meniscus excision. Average IKDC scores in patients with intact repair were 74.04 against 56.67 in patients with a failed repair (p< 0.0001). Similarly, Lyshlom scores were 88.96 and 67.333, respectively (p<0.0001).ConclusionThe survivorship of primary repair of bucket handle meniscus tears in our series was 91.5% at medium term follow-up. Functional outcomes were significantly poor in patients with a failed repair compared to those with an intact repair.