Reliability of clinical evaluation of meniscus repair with the all-inside technique.

INTRODUCTION The study aimed to compare questionnaire data and clinical evaluation with an assessment of meniscal morphology conducted at arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction following meniscal repair. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study involved a selected group of 17 subjects (5 women and 12 men) aged 14-33 years, who underwent meniscal repair with the Fast-Fix system followed by ACL reconstruction. The mean interval between the procedures was 9 months. Prior to each procedure, the patients were requested to fill in the Lysholm Knee Questionnaire. RESULTS At review, 14 patients met the criteria of a healed meniscal repair, whereas the remaining 3 subjects presented with signs of meniscal injury. These observations were confirmed at repeat arthroscopy. The Lysholm score for the entire study group increased from a baseline value of 57.3 to 92.2 points postoperatively, with the patients with reruptured menisci also improving, from 58 to 75.3 points. CONCLUSIONS 1) Our results show that clinical examination is reliable to evaluate the healing of meniscal lesions following all-inside repair, as confirmed by repeat arthroscopy. 2) A far greater increase in the Lysholm score seen in patients whose menisci were confirmed to have healed by repeat arthroscopy indicates that such questionnaires may be of help in the evaluation of treatment outcomes.