Clinical results of all-inside meniscal repair using the FasT-Fix meniscal repair system.

BACKGROUND The meniscus plays a key role in the functioning of the knee. At the present time, meniscal repair has becomes the main treatment for meniscal tear. Compared to open surgery, arthroscopic meniscal repair has become popular because of shorter time need for the operation, the smaller wound, and better accessibility to the tear portion, which is particularly difficult during open surgery. Three arthroscopic techniques are widely used, namely inside-out, outside-in, and all-inside. Arthroscopy all inside meniscal repair has the lowest neurovascular injury rate. METHODS This study prospectively evaluated 31 consecutively treated patients to determine the effectiveness/safety of arthroscopic meniscal repair using the FasTFix repair system. The inclusion criteria for this study were: vertical fullthickness tear> 10 mm in length; location of the meniscal tear < 6 mm from the meniscocapsular junction; repair of the meniscus solely with the FasTFix system; no former meniscus surgery; and no evidence of arthritis during arthroscopy. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficient knees were reconstructed using a hamstring autograft at the time of the meniscal repair. Follow-up examinations consisted of Lysholm knee score, Tegner activity score and radiographic evaluation. RESULTS After an average of 3 years follow-up, no symptoms of meniscal tears were found in 30/31 of the cases. For patients with isolated meniscal repair or concurrent ACL reconstruction, the Lysholm and Tegner activity scores had significantly improved postoperatively. No neurovascular or other major complications were directly associated with the use of the device. CONCLUSIONS Arthroscopic all-inside repair using the FasT-Fix device appears to be a safe and effective procedure.