Meniscus Root Repair vs Meniscectomy or Nonoperative Management to Prevent Knee Osteoarthritis After Medial Meniscus Root Tears: Clinical and Economic Effectiveness

Faucett SC, Geisler BP, Chahla J, Krych AJ, Kurzweil PR, Garner AM, Liu S, LaPrade RF, Pietzsch JB · The American Journal of Sports Medicine

Modelled over 10 years, root repair, meniscectomy and nonoperative treatment produced osteoarthritis in 53.0%, 99.3% and 95.1% of the cohort and total knee replacement in 33.5%, 51.5% and 45.5%. Discounted 10-year costs were $22,590 for repair, $31,528 for meniscectomy and $25,006 for nonoperative treatment.

Population

A pooled meta-analysis of osteoarthritis progression feeding a Markov model of a hypothetical cohort of 55-year-olds with a meniscus root tear and no osteoarthritis at baseline

Intervention

Meniscus root repair

Comparator

Meniscectomy or nonoperative management

Limitations

The 10-year rates are model output, not observed patients: a Markov simulation whose transition probabilities come from the same low-level literature the other records here pool. Cited for the shape of the projection and never as a measured rate. Full text was not retrievable.