Meniscus Injury

Injuries to the meniscus occur in people of all ages and activity levels, and treatment options vary widely. As a national leader in the research and treatment of meniscus injuries, the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Research team can offer the full spectrum of treatment options needed to address the specific needs of each athlete regardless of age, activity level or injury severity.

Faculty members collaborating on research related to meniscus injury repair include:

• Christopher L. Camp, M.D.
• Aaron J. Krych, M.D.
• Daniel B. F. Saris, M.D., Ph.D.
• David B. Soma, M.D.
• Michael J. Stuart, M.D.

Research highlights

Review a complete list of publications on meniscus injury and repair by Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine researchers. Here are the highlights:

• Meniscus repair has good to excellent results in young pediatric and adolescent athletes at a 17-year follow-up.

  Tagliero AJ, Desai VS, Kennedy NI, Camp CL, Stuart MJ, Levy BA, Dahm DL, Krych AJ. Seventeen-year follow-up after meniscal repair with concomitant anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in a pediatric and adolescent population. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018;46:3361.

• Is it possible to regenerate the meniscus in one surgery? Combining human meniscus cells with stem cells in a meniscus scaffold is feasible.

  Hagmeijer MH, Vonk LA, Kouwenhoven JW, Custers RJH, Bleys RL, Krych AJ, Saris DBF. Surgical feasibility of a one-stage cell-based arthroscopic procedure for meniscus regeneration: A cadaveric study. Tissue Engineering. Part C: Methods. 2018;24:688.

• Trends of discoid lateral menisci incidence and treatment in the Rochester Epidemiology Project.

  Sabbag OD, Hevesi M, Sanders TL, Camp CL, Dahm DL, Levy BA, Stuart MJ, Krych AJ. Incidence and treatment trends of symptomatic discoid lateral menisci: An 18-year population-based study. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 201;6:2325967118797886.

• Equivalent results of radial meniscus repair compared to bucket-handle repair: Save the meniscus!

  Wu IT, Hevesi M, Desai VS, Camp CL, Dahm Dl, Levy BA, Stuart MJ, Krych AJ. Comparative outcomes of radial and bucket-handle meniscal tear repair: A propensity-matched analysis. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018;46:2653.

• How should we fix bucket-handle meniscus tears in the knee? All-inside and inside-out suture techniques have good results.

  Samuelsen BT, Johnson NR, Hevesi M, Levy BA, Dahm DL, Stuart MJ, Krych AJ. Comparative outcomes of all-inside versus inside-out repair of bucket-handle meniscal tears: A propensity-matched analysis. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. June 15, 2018.

• Preoperative diagnosis of lateral meniscus root tears on MRI can be challenging and easily missed without a high level of suspicion.

  Krych AJ, Wu IT, Desai VS, Murthy NS, Collins MS, Saris DBF, Levy BA, Stuart MJ. High rate of missed lateral meniscus posterior root tears on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. April 9, 2018.

• Meniscus root tears are increasingly recognized as a pain source in the disability of people with knee pain.

  Cinque ME, Chahla J, Moatshe G, Faucett SC, Krych AJ, LaPrade RF. Meniscal root tears: A silent epidemic. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018;52:872.

• Meniscus root repair should be considered in all appropriate candidates for superior outcomes and cost-effectiveness.

  Faucett SC, Geisler BP, Chahla J, Krych AJ, Kurweil PR, Garner AM, Liu S, LaPrade RF, Pietzsch JB. Meniscus root repair vs meniscectomy or nonoperative management to prevent knee osteoarthritis after medial meniscus root tears: Clinical and economic effectiveness. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018;47:762.

• Medial meniscus root repair midterm results suggest excellent outcomes in a well-aligned knee with minimal degenerative change.

  Krych AJ. Editorial Commentary: Knee medial meniscus root tears: "You may not have seen it, but it's seen you". Arthroscopy. 2018;34:536.

• Horizontal cleavage meniscus tears can be successfully treated with repair instead of resection.

  Woodmass JM, Johnson JD, Wu IT, Saris DBF, Stuart MJ, Krych AJ. Horizontal cleavage meniscus tear treated with all-inside circumferential compression stitches. Arthroscopy Techniques. 2017;6:e1329.

• A bone plug technique for lateral meniscus allograft transplantation is less invasive than a bone bridge technique.

  Woodmass JM, Johnson NR, Levy BA, Stuart MJ, Krych AJ. Lateral Meniscus Allograft Transplantation: The Bone Plug Technique. Arthroscopy Techniques 2017;6:e1215.

• After meniscus root tear, there can be rapid progression of cartilage damage and degeneration.

  Krych AJ, Johnson NR, Mohan R, Hevesi M, Stuart MJ, Littrell LA, Collins MS. Arthritis progression on serial MRIs following diagnosis of medial meniscal posterior horn root tear. Journal of Knee Surgery. 2018;31:e1.

• Proper suture repair of the meniscus root is important for successful outcomes.

  Krych AJ, Johnson NR, Wu IT, Smith PA, Stuart MJ. A simple cinch is superior to a locking loop for meniscus root repair: A human biomechanical comparison of suture constructs in a transtibial pull-out model. Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy. 2018;26:2239.

• Don't forget the ABCs of meniscus repair: Anatomic reduction, biological preparation/augmentation and circumferential compression!

  Woodmass JM, LaPrade RF, Sgaglione NA, Nakamura N, Krych AJ. Meniscal Repair: Reconsidering Indications, Techniques, and Biologic Augmentation. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. 2017;99:1222.

• Medial meniscus root repair can be successfully achieved with a transtibial technique.

  Woodmass JM, Mohan R, Stuart MJ, Krych AJ. Medial Meniscus Posterior Root Repair Using a Transtibial Technique. Arthroscopy Techniques. 2017;6:e511.

• Partial meniscectomy for root tears did not provide beneficial outcomes for some patients.

  Krych AJ, Johnson NR, Mohan R, Dahm DL, Levy BA, Stuart MJ. Partial meniscectomy provides no benefit for symptomatic degenerative medial meniscus posterior root tears. Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy. 2018;26:1117.

• The natural history of medial meniscus root tears is progressive arthritis over time.

  Krych AJ, Reardon PJ, Johnson NR, Mohan R, Peter L, Levy BA, Stuart MJ. Non-operative management of medial meniscus posterior horn root tears is associated with worsening arthritis and poor clinical outcome at 5-year follow-up. Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy. 2017;25:383.