Meniscus graft improves knee pain and function

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – For people with severe knee
pain after undergoing meniscus removal, a meniscus transplant
may improve the situation, researchers from Rush Medical
College in Chicago report.

The authors of an article in the American Journal of Sports
Medicine explain that only quite recently has the importance of
the meniscus, a crescent-shaped fibrous cartilage in the knee
joint, been realized. Previously, a damaged meniscus was often
removed, and even today it’s not always possible to repair
meniscus injury.

Transplantation of a meniscus donated by a deceased person
may be a treatment option for patients with debilitating pain
and low-grade arthritis following meniscus removal, or
meniscectomy, say Dr. Brian J. Cole and colleagues.

The team evaluated the early-term results of 45 meniscus
transplants in 40 consecutive patients. The procedure led to
significant improvements in sports activity and scores on
knee-function scales, as well as quality-of-life measures.

Similarly, scores improved significantly with regard to
both pain and overall knee condition, the results indicate, and
three quarters of the patients reported being completely or
mostly satisfied with the results of the transplant.

Thirty-one of 36 patients (86%) said they would have the
surgery again under comparable circumstances in their other
knee.

Only three patients required knee arthroplasty for failed
transplants within 12 months after the procedure, the
researchers note.

“Although the early clinical results of meniscus
transplantation remain encouraging, it is still not known
whether meniscus transplants delay or prevent degenerative
changes of the knee,” Cole and colleagues point out.

SOURCE: American Journal of Sports Medicine, June 2006.