Abstract
Objectives:
Bucket handle meniscus tears often present concurrently with tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). However, little is known regarding the influence of demographic factors on surgical decision-making, or on outcomes following treatment of bucket handle meniscus tears in ACL-deficient patients. Furthermore, no study has compared outcomes in this population between patients undergoing meniscectomy versus repair. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine if there is a difference in outcomes between patients presenting with concomitant ACL and bucket handle meniscus tears treated with meniscal repair versus meniscectomy. A secondary aim of this study was to discover if there is an association between the decision to perform a meniscus repair or meniscectomy based on demographic factors.
Methods:
In this institutional review board-approved retrospective study, we evaluated 62 patients presenting with ACL tear who were found to have a bucket handle meniscus tear preoperatively or at the time of ACL reconstruction. Of those, 30 patients underwent partial meniscectomy, while 32 underwent meniscal repair. Primary outcome measures included ACL and meniscal retear rates, as well as patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Documented PROMs included the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE), and ACL-Return to Sport after Injury (ACL-RSI) scores. Demographic and patient-specific factors evaluated included age, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, and location of meniscus tear.
Results:
Of 62 patients presenting for ACL reconstruction with concomitant bucket handle meniscus tear, a total of 34 patients with greater than one year (mean 22.4 month) follow-up were included. 14 patients underwent repair, and 20 underwent meniscectomy. No significant differences were noted in IKDC (p = 0.36), delta IKDC (p = 0.18), SANE (p = 0.61), or ACL-RSI (p = 0.67) scores between the repair and meniscectomy groups at final follow-up. No significant differences were found in ACL (p = 1.00) or meniscus (p = 0.49) retear rates between the two groups. Younger age, lower BMI, and tear location (red-red zone) were significantly associated with the decision to perform meniscal repair over meniscectomy (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Among patients presenting with concomitant ACL and bucket handle meniscus tears, we found no difference in patient-reported outcomes or retear rates in patients undergoing meniscal repair versus meniscectomy. Demographic and patient-specific factors including age, BMI, and tear location may influence surgical decision-making when determining the optimal treatment of bucket handle meniscus tears in this population.