Rates of subsequent surgeries after meniscus repair with and without concurrent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

by Joseph B. Kahan, Patrick Burroughs, Logan Petit, Christopher A. Schneble, Peter Joo, Jay Moran, Maxwell Modrak, William Mclaughlin, Adam Nasreddine, Jonathan N. Grauer, Michael J. Medvecky

The purpose of this study was to compare the rates of secondary knee surgery for patients undergoing meniscus repair with or without concurrent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLr).

Utilizing a large national database, patients with meniscal repair with or without concurrent arthroscopic ACLr were identified. The two cohorts were then queried for secondary surgical procedures of the knee within the following 2 years. Frequency, age distribution, rates of secondary surgery, and type of secondary procedures performed were compared.

In total, 1,585 patients were identified: meniscus repair with ACLr was performed for 1,006 (63.5%) and isolated meniscal repair was performed for 579 (36.5%). Minimum of two year follow up was present for 487 (30.7% of the overall study population).Secondary surgery rates were not significantly different between meniscus repair with concurrent ACLr and isolated meniscus repairs with an overall mean follow up of 13 years (1.5–24 years) (10.6% vs. 13.6%, p = 0.126). For the 2 year follow up cohort, secondary surgery rates were not significantly different (19.3% vs. 25.6%, p = 0.1098). There were no differences in survivorship patterns between the two procedures, both in the larger cohort (p = 0.2016), and the cohort with minimum 2-year follow-up (p = 0.0586).

The current study assessed secondary surgery rates in patients undergoing meniscus repair with or without concurrent ACLr in a large patient database. Based on this data, no significant difference in rates of secondary knee surgery was identified.