Description
This study aimed to explore the relationship between pre-operative lower limb alignment and post-operative clinical outcomes, changes in lower limb alignment, and the progression of degenerative arthritis in patients who underwent surgery for a discoid lateral meniscus tear. To achieve this, the study measured and compared the hip-knee-ankle angle, lateral joint space, medial proximal tibial angle, lateral distal femoral angle, and clinical score before and after surgery. Additionally, these parameters were also compared with patients who underwent surgery for a semilunar lateral meniscus tear.
From January 2011, over a period of 12 years, a study was conducted on patients who underwent surgery for discoid lateral meniscus and semilunar lateral meniscus tear. We excluded patients under the age of 18, those with less than a year of follow-up, and individuals with concurrent ligament injuries, cartilage procedures, or fractures.
After surgery in patients with a discoid lateral meniscus tear, the alignment of the lower limb significantly showed a valgus change, and the lateral joint space was observed to narrow. In patients with a semilunar lateral meniscus tear, the lateral joint space also narrowed after surgery, but there was no significant change in the alignment of the lower limb. When comparing the two groups, the change in lateral joint space before and after surgery was significantly more reduced in the discoid lateral meniscus group. Comparing the pre-surgery lower limb alignment of the two groups, the discoid lateral meniscus showed more varus values, which is analyzed to be because the Medial Proximal Tibial Angle (MPTA) of the discoid lateral meniscus group was significantly smaller.
