First clinical experiences with an anatomical meniscus prosthesis

INTRODUCTION: Meniscus loss is a known cause for medial compartment joint pain related to knee osteoarthritis (KOA). The cartilage in knee joints of KOA patients degenerates over time, resulting in accumulative complaints and reduced quality of life. When the osteoarthritis progresses knee arthroplasty is often the eventual treatment once they have reached the eligible age. In case of low grade KOA and an absent meniscus, the orthopedic surgeon currently has no established surgical procedure at hand to restore the knee mechanics and provide pain relief. METHODS: A durable medial meniscus prosthesis has been developed to overcome this treatment gap. This anatomically shaped polymer prosthesis is based on a decade of pre-clinical work at the Radboudumc. The Trammpolin meniscus prosthesis is currently being evaluated in a First in Human clinical trial in three orthopedic centers in the Netherlands. The first results and next steps will be shared in this presentation.