Meniscal repair compared with meniscectomy for bucket-handle medial XXXX in anterior cruciate ligament-reconstructed knees.

@entity1 @entity1347 @entity937
BACKGROUND: Repair of @entity937 is generally preferred over meniscectomy. HYPOTHESIS: Repair of unstable bucket-handle tears of the medial meniscus leads to better outcomes than partial meniscectomy. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of prospectively collected data. METHODS: We reviewed the records of 155 @entity1 who had isolated bucket-handle medial @entity937 and @entity1347 . Fifty-six menisci were repaired; 99 that were degenerative and crushed beyond repair were removed. @entity1 were evaluated at a mean follow-up of 6 to 8 years after surgery with the International Knee Documentation Committee examination and a modified Noyes questionnaire. RESULTS: The mean subjective scores were similar for @entity1 in both the repair (N = 51) and meniscectomy (N = 87) groups. However, in the repair group, the mean subjective score of 93.9 for nondegenerative menisci was significantly better than the 87.1 for degenerative menisci. Objective grades for 25 @entity1 in the repair group were normal or nearly normal in 22 @entity1 (88%) and for 51 of 56 @entity1 (91%) in the removal group. Radiographic subscores for the repair group were normal or nearly normal in 23 @entity1 in the repair group and 49 in the removal group. CONCLUSION: Outcomes from meniscal repair were not superior to those from partial removal. @entity1 with repaired degenerative tears had significantly lower subjective scores than those with nondegenerative tears.
