ZHAO Zhangwei,WANG Juncheng,DONG Yilong, et al. Effect of lateral meniscus posterior root tears at different positions on tibiofemoral joint under knee extension[J]. JOURNAL OF WEZHOU MEDICAL UNIVERSITY, 2023, 53(9): 744-748.
Abstract：Objective: To measure the effect of lateral meniscus posterior root (LMPR) tears at different positions on the both tibiofemoral compartments. Methods: Twelve cadaveric knees were tested under a 1 kN axial load at flexion angles 0°. The contact area and average contact pressure of both tibiofemoral compartments were
measured under 5 lateral meniscus conditions: intact, root avulsion, serial radial tear at 3 mm, 6 mm from the root attachment site, and total meniscectomy. Results: In the lateral compartment, the average contact pressure was (0.68±0.07)MPa and the contact area was (454.49±32.55)mm2 when the meniscus was intact. The lateral
meniscus posterior root (LMPR) avulsion and radial tear of 3 mm, 6 mm from the root attachment site resulted in significantly decreased contact area and increased average contact pressure of the lateral compartment, compared with the intact state (P<0.01). There was no difference among the three groups (P>0.05). Meniscectomy produced higher decreases than root tear in contact area and increases in average pressure (P<0.05). In the medial compartment, average contact pressure was (0.72±0.06)MPa and the contact area was (470.99±33.64)mm2 when the meniscus was intact. The lateral meniscus posterior root (LMPR) avulsion and radial tear had no effect on the average contact pressure or contact area of the medial compartment, but total lateral meniscectomy would reduce the contact area (P<0.01). Conclusion: The lateral meniscus posterior root (LMPR) avulsion and radial tear can significantly increase the average contact pressure and reduce the contact area of the lateral compartment, but there is no difference among the tears at three different positions in the experiment. Total lateral meniscectomy will further enhance the changes of the above indexes of the lateral compartment and reduce the contact area of the medial compartment
