Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the clinical results after meniscal repair using Bionx arrows.
Methods: The study reports the clinical results of 50 patients who had meniscal repair.
The meniscal repairs were carried out by a single surgeon over a period of 4 years.
30 patients ( 1st set) had isolated meniscal repairs. 9 patients ( 2nd set) had meniscal repairs and ACL reconstruction at the same time. 11 patients (3rd set) had meniscal repair followed by ACL reconstruction few months later. The patients were seen in the clinic at 2, 6, 24 weeks post surgery and then kept under surveillance.
Results: In the 1st set , there were only 2 failures who needed partial menisectomy at 7 months and 2 years respectively after the initial repair. So, the failure rate is only 6.6%.
There was only 1 failure in the 2nd set who needed partial menisectomy 19 months post repair. This gives it a failure rate of 11.1%. In the 3rd set, there were 2 failures out of whom one needed partial menisectomy and other needed re-repair using the arrows at 3 and 7 months respectively post repair at the time of ACL reconstruction, a failure rate of 18.8%.
Honorary Secretary Mr Bimal Singh. Correspondence should be addressed to BOSA (British Orthopaedic Specialists Association), c/o Royal College of Surgeons, 35 – 43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE.
