Functional Recovery after Arthroscopic Management of Meniscal Tears

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Abstract

Introduction: Among young, physically active people, meniscal injuries are one of the most frequent causes of knee dysfunction. Due to its minimally invasive nature and potential for early functional recovery, arthroscopic management has emerged as the preferred treatment strategy for symptomatic meniscal tears. This study used validated knee-specific scoring systems to assess short-term functional outcomes after arthroscopic treatment of meniscal tears. Material and Methods: 123 patients between the ages of 18 and 50 who had meniscal tears that were clinically and radiologically confirmed and underwent arthroscopic treatment were included in a prospective observational study. Patients were treated with either meniscal repair or arthroscopic partial meniscectomy based on intraoperative findings. The Tegner Activity Scale, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective score, and Lysholm Knee Score were used to evaluate functional outcomes both before and 6 months after surgery. In addition, recorded were post-operative complications and the return to pre-injury activity levels. Results: The study population was predominately male, with a mean age of 32.8 ± 7.6 years. Longitudinal tear patterns were most commonly seen, and medial meniscal tears were more common than lateral tears. 68.3% of patients had an arthroscopic partial meniscectomy, and 31.7% had meniscal repair. At the 6 months follow-up, all functional outcome measures showed significant improvement. The IKDC subjective score rose from 48.7 ± 10.5 to 86.2 ± 7.1, and the mean Lysholm Knee Score improved from 54.3 ± 9.8 pre-operatively to 89.6 ± 6.4 post-operatively. The score on the Tegner Activity Scale increased from 3.1 ± 1.2 to 6.2 ± 1.4 (P < 0.001). 91.1% of patients recovered without incident, and 79.7% resumed their pre-injury level of activity. Conclusion: Arthroscopic treatment of meniscal tears promotes an early return to activity in the short term and offers notable functional improvement with low rates of complications. Keywords: Meniscal tear, arthroscopy, partial meniscectomy, meniscal repair, functional outcome.