Subjective Knee Function and Risk of Failure Are Equivalent for Men and Women at 5 Years After Meniscus Repair

Abstract

To determine whether subjective knee function or risk of repair failure differ between men and women at mean 5 years following meniscal repair with or without concomitant anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. A total of 235 patients (97 women, 138 men; mean age, 29.1 years; standard deviation, 11.3) were assessed for meniscus repair failure and postoperative knee function at mean 5.8 years follow-up. Knee symptoms were assessed with International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective (IKDC-S) scores. Postoperative activity scores were assessed with Marx activity score. Independent effects of patient age and activity level on meniscus failure risk and patient-reported outcomes were determined by multivariate analysis with adjustment for age, body mass index, anterior cruciate ligament status, tear pattern, and number of implants used at the time of surgery. Failures occurred in 18.9% of men and 21.0% of women with no difference in mean time to failure (P= .75) or risk of failure for men vs women (P= .57) in the univariate analysis. Male sex was not an independent risk factor for failure after adjustment for patient age, body mass index, concomitant anterior cruciate ligament status, tear pattern, or number of implants used (P= .16). Marx activity scores at follow-up were higher among men in multivariate analysis (P= .009). Men and women had similar IKDC-S scores at follow-up in the unadjusted (P= .25) and multivariate analyses (P= .21). Following meniscus repair, both sexes report similar subjective knee function, though men have higher self-reported activity scores. Meniscus repair failure risk does not differ between men or women at mid-term follow up. Level III, retrospective case-control study.