Transtibial Pull-Out Repair of Converted Radial Tear Adjacent to Medial Meniscus Root.

Abstract

Radial tears increase tibiofemoral contact pressure and disrupt the ability of the meniscus to withstand hoop stress, leading to earlier-onset osteoarthritis. Repair of radial tears is problematic because they have a lower healing rate and lack a single gold standard technique. However, when a radial tear is proximal to the root, there is an opportunity to convert it into a root tear. This is ideal because root tears fixed through a transtibial tunnel technique have improved clinical outcomes and reduced rates of osteoarthritis. This Technical Note and accompanying video describe a method for repairing a radial tear near the meniscus root by converting a radial tear to a root tear followed by a pull-out root repair through a transtibial tunnel. This method restores the meniscus root, allowing it to withstand hoop stress. Our technique uses a disposable root repair kit that includes a FlipCutter, a Knee Scorpion Suture Passer, a 4.75-mm SwiveLock anchor tap, a SutureLasso, a PassPort Cannula, 0 FiberLink sutures, and TigerLink sutures.