Editorial Commentary: Repair of "Degenerative" Horizontal Cleavage Meniscus Tears Is Cost-effective, Is Chondroprotective, and Shows Healing Rates Similar to Other Meniscal Tear Patterns.

Journal and index pages often block iframe embedding. This reader keeps the evidence details in Orthonotes and leaves the source page one click away.

Abstract

[Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: Disclosures The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: D.C.F. is a consultant or advisor for Smith & Nephew, Vericel, CONMED, and DePuy Synthes Mitek Sports Medicine and has received funding grants from Smith & Nephew, Vericel, CONMED, DePuy Synthes Mitek Sports Medicine, Moximed, Episurf, KCRN, and Anika Therapeutics. All other authors (C.M., J.P.v.d.L.) declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. 5. Indian J Orthop. 2026 Feb 16;60(3):552-560. doi: 10.1007/s43465-026-01715-3. eCollection 2026 Mar. Meniscal-Related Risk Factors for Lateral Meniscal Extrusion: A Narrative Review. Vasiliadis AV(1)(2), Giovanoulis V(3), Chytas D(4), Katakalos K(5), Paraskevas G(6), Papakostas E(7), Noussios G(2). Author information: (1)Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sports Trauma Unit, St. Luke's Hospital, Panorama, 55236 Thessaloniki, Greece. (2)Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at Serres, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 62110 Agios Ioannis-Serres, Greece. (3)Orthopedic Department, Centre Hospitalier de Versailles-Hopital Andre Mignot, 78150 Le Chesnay Rocquencourt, France. (4)Basic Sciences Laboratory, Department of Physiotherapy, University of Peloponnese, 23100 Sparta, Greece. (5)Laboratory for Experimental Strength of Materials and Structures, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece. (6)Department of Anatomy and Surgical Anatomy, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece. (7)Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, 29222 Doha, Qatar. BACKGROUND: Meniscal extrusion is an important imaging marker of meniscal dysfunction and altered knee joint biomechanics. While medial meniscal extrusion has been extensively investigated, lateral meniscal extrusion remains comparatively underexplored despite its clinical relevance, particularly in younger and athletic populations. OBJECTIVE: To provide a narrative review of meniscal-related risk factors associated with lateral meniscal extrusion. METHODS: A narrative literature review was performed using the PubMed database to identify studies published between January 2000 and December 2025, supplemented by additional relevant sources. Relevant peer-reviewed studies addressing meniscal-related contributors to lateral meniscal extrusion were identified. Risk factors were categorized into meniscal shape and morphology, meniscal pathology and meniscal surgical interventions. RESULTS: Morphological variations, including discoid lateral meniscus, increased meniscus-bone angle and greater meniscal cartilage height, predispose individuals to lateral meniscal extrusion. Specific meniscal pathologies, such as posterior root tears, radial tears, complex tears and degenerative tear patterns, disrupt circumferential hoop stress and significantly increase the risk of extrusion. Lateral meniscal extrusion is also frequently observed following surgical interventions, particularly partial meniscectomy, discoid meniscus reshaping procedures and meniscal allograft transplantation. Post-operative extrusion has been associated with poorer clinical outcomes, increased cartilage degeneration and technical factors related to surgical technique and graft positioning. CONCLUSION: Lateral meniscal extrusion is primarily driven by structural instability rather than degenerative change. Discoid morphology, unfavorable meniscal geometry, complex tear patterns and prior meniscal surgery are major contributing factors, underscoring the clinical importance of meniscal preservation. © Indian Orthopaedics Association 2026. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law. DOI: 10.1007/s43465-026-01715-3 PMCID: PMC13031568