Arthroscopic meniscus refixation versus arthroscopic partial meniscus resection. Long and mid-term osteoarthritic changes

The mid-term and long-term results of meniscus refixation (MRF) versus the meniscus partial resection (MPR) have not yet been compared directly regarding osteoarthritic changes. A total of 81 patients with an isolated meniscus rupture within a stable knee after arthroscopic meniscus-preserving surgery, were physically and radiologically examined, with 42 patients in the MRF group and 39 in the MPR group. Patients with bilateral knee injuries, previous surgery, additional chondral lesions, strong valgus and/or varus deviation and fatty degenerative meniscus lesions were excluded from the investigation. The osteoarthritic changes were radiologically estimated using the Fairbank score and compared to the other uninjured knee. Retrospectively all patients were reviewed and the time of follow-up was separated into midterm (3.4 years) and long-term (8.9 years) after arthroscopic meniscus surgery. The success rate in the long-term follow-up was 95.24% for the MRF group and 94.87% for the MPR group. With respect to osteoarthritic changes, 81% showed no changes after MRF compared to 40% after MPR after 8.9 years. The MRF group showed a slightly lower incidence of osteoarthritic changes for the mid-term results after 3.4 years, but this was not statistically significant. Arthroscopic MRF for isolated meniscus tears in the vascular zone of the stable knee offers more favourable results regarding induction of osteoarthritis compared to partial meniscus resection with an identical risk of complications.