Analysis of the discoid meniscus in Koreans.

Abstract

Discoid meniscus is a relatively common disorder of the knee in Koreans. Its arthroscopic treatment is one of the most technically demanding procedures of this field. The purposes of this study were to define the clinical features of the discoid meniscus in Koreans and to suggest an adequate arthroscopic technique. We performed arthroscopic meniscectomy on 37 knees with a lateral discoid meniscus. The average length of follow up was 21 months. The presence of synovial hypertrophy in the knee with discoid was significantly higher than that with a non-discoid meniscal lesion. A medial midpatellar portal for the arthroscope is advisable for clean arthroscopic surgery in this situation. We obtained satisfactory results through the partial resection of the discoid meniscus, leaving the normal semilunar-shaped meniscus intact as much as possible.