Medial Versus Lateral Meniscus Tears:Patients Characteristics And Arthroscopic Partial Meniscectomy(APM) Outcomes

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine,the differences in the demographic characteristics of patients with medial and lateral meniscus injuries,the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing medial versus lateral partial meniscectomy,the factors associated with satisfactory outcomes.Methods: A retrospective study was carried out,and the patients who underwent partial meniscectomy under arthroscopy after medial and lateral meniscus injury were followed up 1 year later.The history of trauma was recorded,and outcomes scores from 64 patients who underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy(APM)were statistically analyzed.The evaluation scale includes the International Knee Joint Committee Score(IKDC),the Special Surgical Hospital Score(HSS)and the Visual Analogue Scale(VAS)and Lysholm.The differences of demographic characteristics and clinical results between MMTs and LMTs were compared.Through the follow-up questionnaire,the collected data were used for statistical analysis using SPSS 27.0.A non-parametric statistical method was applied to analyze continuous data variables while Chi-square or spearman correlation was used to analyze data from nominal variables,wherever applicable.The confidence interval [CI] of 95% was used for data comparison,P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: The total number of patients with meniscal injuries was 121(MMTs=74,LMTs=47),mean age 52.74,range 25 to 65;mean BMI 25.12,range 19.41 to 34.85.Patients with MM injury had significantly higher age(MMTS=56.2 vs LMTS=47.2,P<0.05),and higher BMI(MMTs=25.7 vs LMTs=23.6,P<0.05).There was a higher rate of non-traumatic MMTs(MMTs=74.2%,LMTs=25.8%,P<0.05),most of which were women(MMTS=62.7%,LMTS=37.3%,P<0.05).Among them,64 patients(MMTS=32,LMTS=32)who underwent partial meniscectomy under knee arthroscopy were followed up for a minimum 1 year period.The results showed fair,good to excellent average score of VAS(1.8,SD=2.0);HSS score(84.1,SD=11.6);IKDC(79.9,SD=11.9)and Lysholm(80.4,SD=12.0).Subgroup analysis showed lateral meniscectomy to have statistically significant higher HSS score(LMTs=89.0 vs MMTS=83.0,P<0.05),higher VAS score(LMTS=1.00 vs MMTS=2.50,P<0.05),higher IKDC score(LMTs=86.2 vs MMTs=78.5,P<0.05),with insignificant difference in the score of Lysholm(MMTs=79.5 vs LMTs=84.5,P>0.05).The increase of age was inversely correlated to HSS score,VAS score,IKDC score and Lysholm score,P<0.05).Conclusion: Compared with LMTs,MMTs is more common in elderly patients,in patients with higher BMI,in women,and they are more likely to results from nontraumatic events(degeneration).Although partial meniscectomy under arthroscopy can improve the symptoms of patients with both medial and lateral meniscus tears,LMTs may have much better results after partial meniscectomy.