[Short-term effectiveness of edge-to-edge #-shaped suture for complete radial tear of lateral meniscus body].

Objective: To investigate the surgical method and short-term effectiveness of arthroscopy edge-to-edge #-shaped suture in the treatment of the complete radial tear of the lateral meniscus body.

Methods: The clinical data of 13 patients with complete radial tear of lateral meniscus body between May 2020 and August 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 10 males and 3 females, aged 15-38 years (mean, 24.2 years). There were 11 cases of acute injury and 2 cases of chronic injury, with time from injury to admission ranging from 2 days to 5 months. All patients had tenderness in the lateral joint space, and 2 patients with chronic injury had positive McMurray's sign. All patients were treated with arthroscopic edge-to-edge #-shaped suture technique. The knee joint activity and tenderness in the lateral joint space were detected, and the healing of the incision and the occurrence of complications were observed. X-ray films and MRI of the knee joint were performed to evaluate joint degeneration and meniscus healing. Lysholm score, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective score, Tegner score, and visual analogue scale (VAS) score were used to evaluate the functional recovery before and after operation.

Results: The operation time ranged from 46 to 100 minutes (mean, 80.08 minutes). All the incisions healed by first intention, and no complication such as intraoperative vascular and nerve injury or postoperative infection occurred. All 13 patients were followed up 20-59 months (mean, 29.3 months). All patients had no limitation of knee extension and flexion. One patient with chronic injury continued to have tenderness in the lateral space of the knee joint, while the remaining patients had no tenderness, swelling, and locking in the lateral space. Immediate postoperative MRI of knee joint showed continuous recovery of the lateral meniscus. At last follow-up, no degenerative changes were observed in X-ray films of knee joint. Except for 1 patient with chronic injury, the MRI of the other patients showed the healing performance after lateral meniscus suture. Lysholm score, IKDC subjective score, Tegner score, and VAS score all significantly improved when compared with those before operation (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The edge-to-edge #-shaped suture technique can effectively repair the complete radial tear of the lateral meniscus body, and the short-term effectiveness is satisfactory.