Clinical Outcome of Meniscus Centralization with Medial Meniscus Root Repair for the Extruded Medial Meniscus

The purpose of this study was to 1) describe the patient-reported clinical outcomes following medial meniscus root repair with meniscus centralization, and 2) identify common complications and detail provisional results.Patients undergoing medial meniscus root repair with meniscus centralization from 2020 to 2022 were identified using an institutional database. Patients were followed prospectively using postoperative Tegner Activity Scale, visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, Joint Replacement (KOOS Jr.), International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, a Likert score for improvement, surgery satisfaction, and subsequent surgeries at minimum 1 year follow-up with mean 2-year follow-up. Demographics, injury characteristics, and surgical details were also collected.Twenty-five patients (age: 50 ± 11 years; sex: 76% female; body mass index: 33 ± 8 kg/m2) were included in this study. Postoperative Tegner score was maintained at preoperative levels (P = .233), while VAS at rest, VAS with use, KOOS Jr., and IKDC improved significantly postoperatively (P = .003; P < .001, P < .001, P = .023, respectively). Eighty-eight percent of patients reported subjective improvement in their knee at final follow-up. Postoperative radiographs did not show any significant OA progression, and no patients had undergone a revision meniscus surgery or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) at the time of follow-up.At minimum 1-year follow-up and mean 2-year follow-up, patients undergoing medial meniscus root repair with meniscus centralization demonstrated significant postoperative improvements in pain, function, and quality of life and reported high rates of surgery satisfaction. There was no evidence of significant arthritic progression on postoperative imaging, and no patients underwent revision meniscus surgery or TKA.Level IV, case series.