An adult case of spontaneous healing of concurrent osteochondritis dissecans of the lateral femoral condyle after saucerization with meniscal repair for discoid lateral meniscus: A case report

BACKGROUND: The treatment strategy for osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) with discoid lateral meniscus (DLM) in adults remains unclear. CASE PRESENTATION: A 22-year-old man presented with left knee pain after spraining his knee. Physical examination revealed lateral joint line tenderness and a positive McMurray test. Radiographic imaging showed OCD of the lateral femoral condyle classified as stage 3 on Brückl's classification. Magnetic resonance imaging showed complete DLM with anterocentral shift based on Ahn's classification and an OCD of 11 mm × 8 mm, grade 2 based on Nelson's classification. On computed tomography (CT), a demarcated fragment was observed in the lesion. Based on these findings, saucerization with meniscal repair was performed for unstable DLM. The OCD lesion presented with softening without any fissure and was diagnosed as grade 1. No surgical procedure was added. One year after surgery, the union of the fragment was confirmed on radiograph and CT. At the final follow-up five years after surgery, the Lysholm score had improved from 58 to 100 points. CONCLUSIONS: We experienced an adult case of stable OCD with concurrent DLM that achieved spontaneous healing after undergoing reshaping surgery for DLM, mimicking normal meniscal morphology, without additional treatment for the stable OCD lesion.