Meniscal tears: the effect of meniscectomy and of repair on intraarticular contact areas and stress in the human knee. A preliminary report

Baratz ME, Fu FH, Mengato R · The American Journal of Sports Medicine

Contact area fell about 10% and peak local contact stress rose about 65% after partial meniscectomy. After total meniscectomy contact area fell about 75% and peak local contact stress rose about 235%. Repairing a peripheral tear gave the same contact areas and stresses whichever suture technique was used, while resecting the same segment raised peak local contact stress about 110%.

Population

Human cadaver knees loaded at 400 pounds in 0 or 30 degrees of flexion, contact measured with pressure-sensitive film

Intervention

Sequential bucket-handle tear, partial meniscectomy and total meniscectomy in four knees; peripheral tear, open and arthroscopic repair, segmental and total meniscectomy in three

Limitations

Seven cadaver knees, static loading, and the authors call it a preliminary report. It measures the mechanical consequence at the moment of resection, not what a living joint does with it over years. Full text was not retrievable.