Analysis of meniscal lesions accompanying anterior cruciate ligament tears: a retrospective analysis of 156 patients

Purpose of the study The purpose of this retrospective study of a continuous series was to document preferential types and localizations of meniscal lesions accompanying anterior cruciate ligament tears and to demonstrate the relationships between meniscal lesions, patient age and time from trauma to surgery. Material and methods One hundred fifty-six patients with no history of meniscal lesions underwent ligamentoplasty in 2003. All procedures were performed by the same operator. The time from trauma to surgery was 31.6 months on average. This was a retrospective continuous series using data from detailed operative reports. Results An isolated lesion of the medial meniscus was observed in 25.6 % of cases. There was an isolated lesion of the lateral meniscus in 21.8 % and lesions of both menisci in 9 %. The most frequent injury was a: longitudinal fissuration, for both menisci. Patient age and time from trauma to surgery were statistically correlated with presence of a medial lesion. There was no statistical relationship for the lateral meniscus nor for type of meniscal injury. Discussion The proportion of lesions to the lateral meniscus appeared to be unaffected by age or time to surgery after trauma, suggesting that lateral meniscal lesions occurred at the time of the initial curciate injury. On the contrary, the incidence of medial lesions increased with time and patient age, confirming the important role of the medial meniscus to block anterior displacement of the knee. We thus recommend early repair of anterior cruciate ligament tears in order to avoid medial meniscectomy which would increase with increasing time from injury to surgery and thus affect the postoperative outcome.