Study of Medial Meniscus Tear Pattern and Cartilage Loss in Patients Undergoing TKR with Severe Osteoarthritis Knee with Varus Deformity

Introduction: The meniscus is a vital structure to normal knee function re­sponsible for body weight distribution, shock absorption, pro­prioception, stabilization, lubrication of the knee joint, and pressure resistance. A variety of recent re­search has focused on the loss of circumferential hoop tension as the main precursor of onset and progression of osteoarthritis. Aim: To investigate the incidence of root tears of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus and cartilage loss in total knee replacement arthroplasty for knee osteoarthritis and retrospectively analyze clinical results and factors associated with root tears and cartilage loss. Materials and Methods: There were 101 knees of 74 enrolled patients who had undergone total knee replacement arthroplasty between January2023 and December 2023 in Viswabharathi Medical College and Hospital, Kurnool. The presence of a root tear of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus was confirmed in all patients. Statistical analysis was performed to investigate the correlation between root tears and the possible factors of meniscal tears including gender, age, body mass index (BMI), varus deformity and activity of the patient. Results: Meniscal tears were observed in 101 patients with complete root degeneration in 55 patients (P value <0.05), thin roots in 9 patients and with intact root in 37 patients. The Patients with complete root tear showed tricompartmental cartilage loss compared to other 2 groups. Conclusions: Factors considered to represent the severity of osteoarthritis were found to be associated with root tears of the medial meniscus posterior horn and cartilage loss. Female sex, sedentary activity, Increased BMI seemed to be associated with the increased incidence of root tears of the medial meniscus posterior horn.