Does concomitant meniscectomy affect medium-term outcome of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction? A preliminary report

INTRODUCTION: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is often accompanied by injuries of the menisci. In order to restore knee stability, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is performed, with meniscus surgery when needed. The purpose of this study was to assess the medium-term outcome of ACLR in subjects with and without concomitant meniscus tear and partial meniscectomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We prospectively studied 73 patients after arthroscopically assisted bone-patellar tendon-bone ACLR. Subjects were divided into two subgroups: those who had only ACLR (group A, 54 subjects with mean age 28, (SD 9)) and those who underwent both ACLR and concomitant partial meniscectomy (group B, 19 subjects, mean age 32 [11]). Subjects completed a disease-specific questionnaire, the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), preoperatively and at a minimum follow-up of 1 year. RESULTS: No differences in mean scores between group A and B were observed either preoperatively or at follow-up. We found a significant change in mean score in the KOOS subscale QoL in group A following ACLR (Δ = 9 points, p = 0.039). Most subjects improved in the KOOS subscales Sports and Recreation and QoL in both group A (59 and 52% respectively) and B (63 and 47% respectively). Eight subjects (15%) from group A and 1 (5%) from group B fulfilled criteria of functional recovery. Criteria of treatment failure were fulfilled in 17 subjects (32%) from A and 4 (21%) from group B. CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing ACLR with partial meniscectomy had a similar medium-term outcome compared to individuals with ACL tear alone.