Meniscal allograft transplantation maintains function and activity beyond 10 years with moderate graft failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Yu V, Meglino N, Cohen D, Vivekanantha P, Vargas L, Morgan V, Bouchard MD, de Sa D, Lesniak BP, Musahl V · Journal of ISAKOS

Patient-reported outcomes improved from before surgery to final follow-up and held there. Pooled objective graft failure was 31% (95% CI 27% to 34%; I-squared 80%) across fifteen studies, and pooled conversion to total or unicompartmental knee arthroplasty was 17% (95% CI 15.0% to 21.0%; I-squared 59%) across nine, with individual study rates from 2% to 25%.

Population

Twenty studies — six level III and fourteen level IV — covering 1,096 patients at a mean follow-up of 151.6 (SD 38.5) months

Intervention

Meniscal allograft transplantation for symptomatic meniscal deficiency

Limitations

No comparator arm and heterogeneity of 80% on the failure estimate, so the pooled figure describes a spread rather than a rate. Failure is defined differently between studies, which is part of why the spread is that wide. Full text was not retrievable.