Objective Anterior cruciate l igament (ACL) is an important forward stable structure of knees, when its function impaired, the normal mechanical environment of joint will be destroyed. Now, to explore the effect of ACL rupture on the posterior horn of lateral meniscus by measuring biomechanics. Methods Ten specimens of knee joints (5 left and 5 right sides asymmetrically) were donated voluntarily from 10 normal fresh adult male cadavers, aged 26-35 years with anaverage of 31.4 years. The straining of lateral meniscus posterior horn in 10 knee joint specimens before and after resection of ACL were tested when the knee joints loaded from 0 to 200 N at a velocity of 0.5 mm per second at 0, 30, 60, and 90° of flexion and recorded at the moment when the load was 200 N, the ratio of straining before and after resection of ACL were connted. All the specimens were anatomied and observed in general so as to find injuries such as deformation and tearing in lateral meniscus after test. Results The straining of lateral meniscus posterior horn were as follows: intact ACL group, (—11.70 ± 0.95) με at 0° flexion, (—14.10 ± 1.95) με at 30° flexion, (—20.10 ± 1.20) με at 60° flexion, and (—26.50 ± 1.58) με at 90° flexion; ACL rupture group, (—6.20 ± 1.55) με at 0° flexion, (—26.30 ± 1.89) με at 30° flexion, (—37.70 ± 1.64) με at 60° flexion, and (—46.20 ± 2.78) με at 90° flexion. There were significant differences between intact ACL group and ACL rupture group (P lt; 0.05). The straining ratio of the posterior horn of lateral meniscus rupture ACL to intact ACL were 0.53 ± 0.12, 1.90 ± 0.31, 1.88 ± 0.15, and 1.75 ± 0.16 at 0, 30, 60, and 90° of flexion. The lateral meniscus were intact in general and no injuries such as deformation and tearingwere found. Conclusion ACL has a significant biomechanical effect on posterior horn of lateral meniscus. Consequently, the posterior horn of lateral meniscus is overloaded with ACL rupture at 30, 60, and 90° of flexion, and thereby, it will have the high risk of tear.
Objective To investigate the effectiveness of one-stage direct suture technique under arthroscopy for the treatment of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury combined with anterior meniscus root injury. Methods The clinical data of 9 patients with ACL injury or tibial intercondylar eminence fracture combined with anterior meniscus root injury who were admitted between September 2017 and September 2024 and met the selection criteria were retrospectively analyzed. There were 3 males and 6 females, aged 21-62 years, with an average age of 37.1 years. The time from injury to surgery ranged from 5 days to 5 years, with a median time of 40 days. Among them, 5 cases had ACL injury, including 4 cases of type 1 and 1 case of type 2 according to modified Sherman classification; 4 cases had tibial intercondylar eminence fracture, including 3 cases of type 3 and 1 case of type 2 according to Meyers-McKeever classification. There were 7 cases of anterior root injury of lateral meniscus and 2 cases of anterior root injury of medial meniscus. The preoperative International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score was 45.0±12.3, and Lysholm score was 49.2±12.4. Preoperatively, 7 cases were positive in anterior drawer test, Lachman test, and McMurray test, while 2 cases could not complete the test due to pain limitation. Preoperatively and at last follow-up, IKDC score and Lysholm score were used to evaluate knee joint function, anterior drawer test and Lachman test were used to evaluate knee joint stability, and McMurray test was used to evaluate meniscus condition. Results The operation time was 30-100 minutes, with an average of 64.2 minutes; the total hospital stay was 2-12 days, with an average of 4.5 days; the postoperative hospital stay was 1-4 days, with an average of 1.8 days. All incisions healed by first intention without surgery-related complications. All 9 patients were followed up 2-30 months, with an average of 18.8 months. No internal fixation-related complications occurred during follow-up. At last follow-up, MRI review showed good ligament tension, and CT showed good fracture healing. The results of anterior drawer test and Lachman test were all negative. McMurray test was negative in all cases. The IKDC score was 88.3±5.1, and Lysholm score was 88.3±5.6, both showing significant improvement compared to preoperative scores (t=14.001, P<0.001; t=10.192, P<0.001). Conclusion One-stage direct suture technique under arthroscopy for repairing ACL injury or tibial intercondylar eminence fracture combined with anterior meniscus root injury can achieve good effectiveness without fixation device-related complications.
Objective To summarize the clinical features, surgical methods, and prognosis of bucket-handle meniscal tears (BHMTs), and provide guidance for clinical treatment. Methods The clinical data of 91 BHMTs patients (91 knees), who met the selection criteria and were admitted between January 2015 and January 2021, was retrospectively analyzed. There were 68 males and 23 females. Age ranged from 16 to 58 years with an average of 34.4 years. The injury was caused by sports in 68 cases, traffic accident in 15 cases, and falls or sprains in 8 cases. There were 49 cases of left knee injury and 42 cases of right knee injury. The time from the onset of symptoms to the admission ranged from 1 day to 13 months (median, 18 days), including >1 month in 35 cases and ≤1 month in 56 cases. Medial BHMTs occurred in 52 cases and lateral BHMTs in 39 cases. There were 36 cases with ACL rupture and 12 cases with discoid meniscus. The knee extension was limited more than 10° in 55 cases. According to the condition of meniscus injury, the meniscus suture with Inside-out combined with All-inside techniques (54 cases) or meniscoplasty (37 cases) under arthroscopy were selected. ACL reconstruction was performed in all patients with ACL rupture with autogenous hamstring tendon. Postoperative complications were observed. International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, Lysholm score, and Tegner score were used to evaluate knee function, and clinical failure was recorded. Results Two patients developed intermuscular venous thrombosis, which improved after oral anticoagulant therapy. No vascular injury, postoperative infection, joint stiffness, or other complications occurred in all patients. All patients were followed up 24-95 months, with a median of 64 months. A total of 12 cases (13.19%) failed the operation and were re-operated or given oral anti-inflammatory analgesics and rehabilitation therapy. At last follow-up, IKDC score and Lysholm score of 91 patients significantly increased when compared with those before operation (P<0.05), while Tegner score significantly decreased (P<0.05). The above indexes of patients treated with meniscus suture and meniscoplasty were also significantly different from those before operation (P<0.05). ConclusionBHMTs occurs mostly in young men and is one of the important reasons for the limitation of knee extension after trauma. Arthroscopic meniscus suture and meniscoplasty can obtain good effectiveness according to individual conditions of patients. But the latter can better preserve the shape and function of meniscus, and theoretically can obtain better long-term outcomes, which needs to be confirmed by further research with larger sample size.
Objective To measure and analyze the relationships among the posterior tibial slope (PTS), meniscal slope (MS), and meniscus posterior horn thickness (MPHT) of the medial and lateral tibial plateau in healthy people and patients with anteromedial osteoarthritis (AMOA) in Heilongjiang province, so as to provide reference basis for appropriate tibial osteotomy and prosthesis placement angles in knee joint surgeries. Methods A retrospective collection of imaging data from knee joint MRI examinations conducted prior to AMOA for various reasons was performed. A total of 103 healthy individuals (healthy group) and 30 AMOA patients (AMOA group) were included. There was no significant difference in the gender composition ratio, side, and body mass index between the two groups (P>0.05); however, the comparison of ages between the two groups showed a significant difference (P<0.05). The collected DICOM format image data was imported into the RadiAnt DICOM Viewer software and measured the medial PTS (MPTS), lateral PTS (LPTS), medial MS (MMS), lateral MS (LMS), medial MPHT (MMPHT), and lateral MPHT (LMPHT) with standard methods. The differences of the above indexes between the two groups and between different genders and sides in the two groups were compared, and Pearson correlation analysis was carried out. At the same time, the measured data of healthy group were compared with the relevant literature reported in the past. Results Compared to the healthy group, the AMOA group exhibited significantly smaller MPTS and LPTS, as well as significantly greater MMPHT and LMPHT, with significant differences (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the MMS and LMS between the two groups (P>0.05). The differences in various indicators between genders and sides within the two groups were not significant (P>0.05). The correlation analysis and regression curves indicated that both MPTS and LPTS in the two groups were positively correlated with their respective ipsilateral MS and MPHT (P<0.05); as PTS increased, the rate of increase in MS and MPHT tend to plateau. Compared to previous related studies, the MPTS and LPTS measured in healthy group were comparable to those of the Turkish population, exhibiting smaller values than those reported in other studies, while MMS and LMS were relatively larger, and MMPHT and LMPHT were smaller. ConclusionIn healthy people and AMOA patients in Heilongjiang province, PTS has great individual differences, but there is no significant individual difference in MS. MPHT can play a certain role in retroversion compensation, and its thickness increase may be used as one of the indicators to predict the progression of AMOA. The above factors should be taken into account when UKA is performed, and the posterior tilt angle of tibial osteotomy should be set reasonably after preoperative examination and evaluation.
ObjectiveTo establish a classification model based on knee MRI radiomics, realize automatic identification of meniscus tear, and provide reference for accurate diagnosis of meniscus injury. Methods A total of 228 patients (246 knees) with meniscus injury who were admitted between July 2018 and March 2021 were selected as the research objects. There were 146 males and 82 females; the age ranged from 9 to 76 years, with a median age of 53 years. There were 210 cases of meniscus injury in one knee and 18 cases in both knees. All the patients were confirmed by arthroscopy, among which 117 knees with meniscus tear and 129 knees with meniscus non-tear injury. The proton density weighted-spectral attenuated inversion recovery (PDW-SPAIR) sequence images of sagittal MRI were collected, and two doctors performed radiomics studies. The 246 knees were randomly divided into training group and testing group according to the ratio of 7∶3. First, ITK-SNAP3.6.0 software was used to extract the region of interest (ROI) of the meniscus and radiomic features. After retaining the radiomic features with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)>0.8, the max-relevance and min-redundancy (mRMR) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) were used for filtering the features to establish an automatic identification model of meniscus tear. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) and the corresponding area under the ROC curve (AUC) was obtained; the model performance was comprehensively evaluated by calculating the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. Results A total of 1 316-dimensional radiomic features were extracted from the meniscus ROI, and the ICC within the group and ICC between the groups of the 981-dimensional radiomic features were both greater than 0.80. The redundant information in the 981-dimensional radiomic features was eliminated by mRMR, and the 20-dimensional radiomic features were retained. The optimal feature subset was further selected by LASSO, and 8-dimensional radiomic features were selected. The average ICC within the group and the average ICC between the groups were 0.942 and 0.920, respectively. The AUC of the training group was 0.889±0.036 [95%CI (0.845, 0.942), P<0.001], and the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 0.873, 0.869, and 0.842, respectively; the AUC of the testing group was 0.876±0.036 [95%CI (0.875, 0.984), P<0.001], and the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 0.862, 0.851, and 0.845, respectively. ConclusionThe model established by the radiomics method has good automatic identification performance of meniscus tear.
ObjectiveTo discuss the MRI diagnostic criteria, classification and lesion characteristics of medial discoid meniscus of the knee.
MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of all patients who accepted MRI examination of knee from November 2009 to March 2015.Twenty-six of them (28 knees) with medial discoid meniscus were screened out.We measured and analyzed in all cases the ratio of the width of meniscus to that of tibial plateau on coronal slice, and the thickest thickness of the meniscus posterior horn on sagittal slice.All cases were divided into complete and incomplete type according to MRI findings, and then we compared the lesion rate of the two types of medial discoid meniscus.
ResultsTwenty-eight cases were divided into complete type (n=16) and incomplete type (n=12);there were 17 cases of medial discoid meniscal tears, with a lesion rate of 60.7%.The ratio of the width of meniscus to that of tibial plateau on coronal slice was 0.29±0.06, and the thickest thickness of the meniscus posterior horn was (5.31±0.92) mm.The lesion rate of complete type was 81.2%, and 33.3% of the incomplete type.The lesion rate of the complete type was higher than that of the incomplete type, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05).
ConclusionsThree MRI diagnostic criteria for medial discoid meniscus are 3 or more than 3 consecutive layers discoid meniscus "tie-like" change in sagittal slice, the ratio of the width of meniscus to that of tibial plateau≥0.20, and the thickest thickness of the meniscus posterior horn≥4.40 mm.Medial discoid meniscuses are divided into complete and incomplete type; the lesion rate of complete type of medial discoid meniscus is higher than that of the incomplete type.
Objective To evaluate the clinical diagnostic value of knee MRI at 90° flexed position for Ramp lesions of medial meniscus. Methods A total of 228 patients with knee pain as the main complaint who were admitted between September 2021 and September 2023 was selected as the research subjects, of which 51 patients met the selection criteria and were enrolled in the study. There were 31 males and 20 females with an average age of 38.6 years (range, 15-67 years). Body mass index was 17.2-28.7 kg/m2 (mean, 23.9 kg/m2). There were 25 cases of left knee and 36 cases of right knee. The time from injury to admission was 0.1-14.3 weeks (mean, 2.1 weeks). Preoperative knee MRI at fully extended position (knee extension position) and 90° flexed position (knee flexion position) were performed to determine the presence of irregular signs at the posterior edge of the medial meniscus, and PHMM fluid high signal [i.e. complete fluid filling between the posterior horn of the medial meniscus (PHMM) and the capsule margin]. Findings obtained under arthroscopy served as the “gold standard” to analyze the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of MRI at knee extension and flexion positions for the two specific signs of Ramp lesion.Results Twenty-one patients (41.2%) were diagnosed with Ramp lesions by using arthroscopy, including 1 case of Thaunat type Ⅰ, 2 cases of type Ⅱ, 6 cases of type Ⅲ, 7 cases of type Ⅳ, and 5 cases of type Ⅴ. The positive rates of irregular signs at the posterior edge of the medial meniscus on MRI at knee extension and flexion positions were significantly different from the diagnosis of Ramp injury under arthroscopy (P<0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV of MRI in the diagnosis of irregular signs were 76.1%, 60.0%, 66.7%, 57.1%, and 78.3% respectively at knee extension position, and 85.7%, 73.3%, 78.4%, 69.2%, and 88.0% respectively at knee flexion position. The positive rates of PHMM fluid high signal on MRI at knee extension and flexion positions were significantly different from the diagnosis of Ramp injury under arthroscopy (P<0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV of MRI in diagnosing PHMM fluid high signal were 38.1%, 100%, 74.5%, 100%, and 69.8% respectively at knee extension position, and 85.7%, 100%, 94.1%, 100%, and 90.9% respectively at knee flexion position. ConclusionKnee MRI at 90° flexed position improves the diagnostic performance of the detection of medial meniscal Ramp lesions compared with MRI at fully extended position.
ObjectiveTo compare the short-term effectiveness of suture hook suture via double posteromedial approaches and Fast-Fix total internal suture in treatment of Ramp lesions. Methods A clinical data of 56 patients with anterior cruciate ligament rupture combined with Ramp lesions, who met the selection criteria and admitted between December 2021 and February 2023, was retrospectively analyzed. The Ramp lesions were sutured using suture hook via double posteromedial approaches under arthroscopy in 28 cases (group A) and treated with Fast-Fix total internal suture under arthroscopy in 28 cases (group B). There was no significant difference in age, gender, cause of injury, type of injury, time from injury to operation, side of injury, body mass index, and preoperative Lysholm score, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, and Tegner score between the two groups (P>0.05). The patients were followed up regularly after operation, and the clinical and imaging healing of the Ramp lesion was evaluated according to the Barrett clinical healing standard and the MRI evaluation standard. Lysholm score, VAS score, and Tegner score were used to evaluate the function and pain degree of knee joint, and the results were compared with those before operation. ResultsThe incisions of the two groups healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 12-18 months (mean, 14.9 months). Postoperative McMurray tests were negative in both groups. The clinical healing rates of group A and group B were 71.4% (20/28) and 64.3% (18/28) at 6 months after operation, and 92.9% (26/28) and 82.1% (23/28) at 12 months after operation, respectively. The differences between the two groups was not significant (χ2=0.327, P=0.567; χ2=0.469, P=0.225). There was no significant difference in Lysholm score, VAS score, and Tegner score between the two groups at each time point after operation (P>0.05). The postoperative scores in the two groups significantly improved when compared with those before operation, and the scores at 12 months after operation further improved when compared with those at 6 months after operation, showing significant differences between the different time points in the two groups (P<0.05). At last follow-up, MRI examination of the knee joint showed that there were 26 (92.9%), 2 (7.1%), and 0 (0) cases of complete healing, partial healing, and nonunion in the Ramp lesion of group A, and 25 (89.3%), 1 (3.6%), and 2 (7.1%) cases in group B, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups (Z=?0.530, P=0.596). ConclusionSuture hook suture via double posteromedial approaches and Fast-Fix total internal suture under arthroscopy are safe and reliable in the treatment of Ramp lesion, and the knee joint function significantly improves after operation.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness of arthroscopic multi-point fixation with anchor and suture in the treatment of tibial insertion avulsion fracture of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) involving the anterior root of lateral meniscus (LM). Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 28 patients with tibial insertion avulsion fracture of ACL involving the anterior root of LM who were treated with arthroscopic multi-point fixation with anchor and suture between October 2017 and January 2023. There were 12 males and 16 females with the mean age of 26 years (range, 13-57 years). There were 20 cases of sports injury and 8 cases of traffic accident injury. In 2 cases of old fracture, the time from injury to operation was 45 days and 90 days, respectively; in 26 cases of fresh fracture, the time from injury to operation was 3-20 days (mean, 6.7 days). According to the Meyers-McKeever classification, there were 4 cases of type Ⅱ, 11 cases of type Ⅲ, and 13 cases of type Ⅳ. The preoperative Lysholm knee function score was 42.1±9.0, the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score was 40.0±7.3, and the Tegner score was 0.7±0.7. ResultsAll operations were successfully completed, and the incisions healed by first intention. All the 28 patients were followed up 5-60 months (mean, 20.4 months). During the follow-up, there was nocomplication such as infection, vascular or nerve injury, loosening or breakage of internal fixator, or stiffness of knee joint. Postoperative X-ray films showed satisfactory fracture reduction and firm fixation. All fractures healed clinically, and the healing time was 8-16 weeks (mean, 10.3 weeks). At last follow-up, Lachman test and anterior drawer test were negative. At last follow-up, Lysholm knee function score was 92.4±5.5, IKDC score was 91.6±4.4, and Tegner score was 5.2±1.1, which significantly improved when compared with preoperative scores (t=?22.899, P<0.001; t=?29.870, P<0.001; t=?19.979, P<0.001). ConclusionMulti-point fixation with anchor and suture in the treatment of tibial insertion avulsion fracture of ACL involving the anterior root of LM can not only fix the LM, but also effectively reduce and fix the avulsion fracture, which can obtain good effectiveness.
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.
