Surgical Treatment of Symptomatic Young Patient with Total Meniscectomy. Does Meniscal
Allograft Transplantation can Improve Function, Pain Relief, Return to Sports and will it Survive? A
Retrospective Study About 56 Cases
Mamoun BELKEBIR MRANI1, Léa SCHUMMAN2, Julie MANON3, Arnaud
DELTOUR1*, Olivier CORNU1
1Master in Orthopedic Surgery at the Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels,
Belgium
2Saint Luc University Clinics, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology of the
Locomotor System, Brussels, Belgium
3CHIREC Hospital Group, Delta Site, Department of Orthopedic Surgery and
Traumatology of the Musculoskeletal System, Brussels, Belgium
*Corresponding Author: Arnaud DELTOUR, Master in Orthopedic Surgery at the
Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Received:
August 25, 2025; Published: October 16, 2025
Abstract
Young patients who underwent total or subtotal meniscectomy can leads to a painful, stiff, and incommoding knee. Those patients
could suffer from early onset osteoarthritis. When medical treatment can’t achieve awaited results, a surgery can be needed. We
choose to study 56 patients with painful meniscectomized knees who underwent arthroscopic meniscal allograft transplantation. A
total of 45 lateral and 11 medial meniscal allografts were transplanted. Follow up was done between 1 to 10 years (between 2012
and 2022). The studied outcomes where functional scores (Lysholm, IKDC), visual analogic scale (VAS), return to sport (RTS) range
of motion (ROM), rate of reintervention and imaging survivorship (MRI or ArthroCT). Main patients had an improvement of function,
a better ROM, pain relief, high RTS and a good survivorship was found. We performed an isolated MAT in 35,7% of the cases. The
MAT was associated in 37,5% of the cases with external condylar microfractures, 7,1% with internal condylar microfractures, 3,7%
with MACI procedure of the external condyle, 1,8% with MACI procedure of the internal condyle, 5,4% with ACL reconstruction,
3,6% with mosaicplasty and 5,3% with hardware removal. IKDC score at 1 year was 72,3 (SD 7,4), at 2 years was 78,6 (SD 6,4), at 5
years was 72,1 (SD 14,2) and at 10 years was 63,4 (SD 17,2). Lysholm score at 1 year was 83,4 (SD 6,1), at 2 years was 88,9 (SD 6,9),
at 5 years was 86,4 (SD 14,7) and at 10 years was 72,8 (SD 25,3). Mean VAS was 2,4/10 (SD 2,8) while 50% of the patient had a VAS
at 1/10 or lower. We compared function results of isolated MAT and associated procedures. Isolated MAT provided slightly better
results that associated surgeries. Mean IKDC for isolated MAT was 71,2 while mean IKDC for associated surgeries was 69,6. Mean
Lysholm for isolated MAT was 88 while mean Lysholm for associated surgeries was 80,8. Reintervention was needed in 5 patients
and 1 patient was converted to total knee arthroplasty. Following a Kaplan- Meier curve, survivorship at 10 years was 9,57 +/- 0,25
years. Mean increased ROM was 6,3° and 69,6% patients returned to sport. Isolated MAT had 80% RTS while combinate MAT had
63% RTS. Comparation of meniscal survivorship depending on the presence or absence of chondropathy has shown no significant
difference. Despite a substantial improvement of the MAT in all fields, some patients had residual symptoms and disabilities. MAT is
an encouraging treatment for the young meniscectomized patient. It provides favorable improvement of function, pain and RTS in
well selected patients.
Keywords: Meniscal Allograft Transplantation; Painful Total Meniscectomy; Arthroscopic Surgery; Sport Surgery
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