A new arthroscopic technique for lateral meniscal allograft transplantation: Cadaver feasibility study

SummaryIntroductionThe three prerequisites for a successful meniscal allograft are fixation, graft sizing and precise positioning. The goal of this study was to demonstrate that lateral meniscal allografts can be reliably positioned using a fully arthroscopic technique.HypothesisThis surgical technique is feasible and results in good positioning of the meniscal graft.Material and methodsTwelve fresh cadavers were used in the study. The meniscal graft implantation procedure was performed entirely by arthroscopy. The meniscal horns were fixed with screw-in suture anchors and the meniscal border was fixed to the capsule by arthroscopic meniscus-capsule sutures. The main outcome measure of good implant positioning was based on the distance between the implanted location of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus (PHLM) and its original location. To accomplish this, aerial photographs of the tibial plateau were used to compare the insertion zones and to calculate the distance between them. These measurements were performed by two surgeons and then compared.ResultsEleven of the 12 procedures (92%) were performed successfully. The posterior horn of the lateral meniscus was positioned an average of 4.3mm in the medial–lateral axis and 1.7mm in the anterior–posterior axis away from its original location. Thus the position of the implanted PHLM was on average 4.6mm away from its original location.DiscussionThis fully arthroscopic technique is feasible. It offers the advantages associated with minimally-invasive surgery and results in good positioning of the posterior horn of the allograft. Two limitations of this study are that the size of the implant was not matched and the chosen fixation method was not subjected to biomechanical evaluation. The lack of a tibial tunnel will make it easier to combine this procedure with ACL reconstruction. In these conditions, the clinical application of this technique seems to be timely.Level of proofIV – Controlled experimental study