A new surgical technique for arthroscopic repair of the meniscus root tear.

Abstract

Injury of the meniscal root can lead to meniscal extrusion and loss of normal hoop stress distribution by the meniscus. This has been shown to result in an excessive tibiofemoral contact pressures and has been associated with development of arthritis in the affected compartment of the knee. Repair of meniscal root avulsion has been shown to restore the normal contact stresses, and several techniques for such repair have been described. We report an all-arthroscopic technique that allows anatomic reattachment of the avulsed meniscal root, applicable to both the medial or lateral menisci. Our technique utilizes a novel retrograde reaming device to create a small intraosseous socket at the meniscal tibial attachment, and may be particularly useful for repairing meniscal root avulsions in knees with multiligamentous injuries.