ASSESSMENT OF RESULTS OF ARTHROSCOPIC MENISCAL REPAIR IN SOHAG UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, EGYPT

Background:Knee arthroscopy is the commonest performed orthopedic surgery. Meniscal tears represent a major indication of knee arthroscopy. Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the structure, function and vascular anatomy of the menisci had opened the door for meniscal repair procedures. Several techniques for meniscal repair do exist. All inside technique is getting more popular use, in this study we report our results of meniscal repair using all inside technique. Patient and methods:Between January 2015 and June 2019, twenty cases were selected for meniscal repair after thorough clinical, radiological and arthroscopic evaluation. Mean age was 26.5 years (range 20-39). They were 16 males, the main objective was to evaluate the results of arthroscopic meniscal repair using all-inside meniscal repair systems. Clinical evaluation for patients were done according to international knee documentation committee (IKDC). Results:Mean operative time was 49.75 +/- 9 min. Mean IKDC Score before surgery was 40.25+8.35, while the mean score postoperative was 84+13.92. Tear was in the body and posterior third of the meniscus in 15 case, in three cases was on was in the body only while in two cases was in the posterior horn. Second look arthroscopy was performed for cases who showed no improvement in clinical symptoms. Conclusion:All inside technique provides satisfactory results of meniscal repair, however, we couldn?t prove superiority over other techniques of meniscal repair. The essential goal of meniscal repair is protecting the knee from long term degenerative changes by the cushion like and stabilizing effect of the menisci. Having found no difference in surgical outcome between different types of all-inside meniscal repair techniques, we investigated other factors such as age & sex, injury location, length, zone & site of tear for their effect. Patient age and time elapsed from injury was recorded for every case being important factors that might affect repair outcome dramatically. Patient?s weight (body mass index) was also recorded as a factor that could jeopardize the repair. MRI, despite its fallacies, was a major diagnostic tool that helped tear identification as well as exclusion of ligamentous injuries and other associated knee problems.