Knee Surg Relat Res.  2011 Dec;23(4):227-230. 10.5792/ksrr.2011.23.4.227.

Medial Meniscal Tears in Anterior Cruciate Ligament-Deficient Knees: Effects of Posterior Tibial Slope on Medial Meniscal Tear

• Lee JJ
• Choi YJ
• Shin KY
• Choi CH

• KMID: 2297854
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5792/ksrr.2011.23.4.227

Abstract

PURPOSE
To evaluate the incidence of meniscal tears in patients with chronic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-deficient knees, and to determine the influence of posterior tibial slope (PTS) on medial meniscal tears in ACL-deficient knees.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We reviewed 174 patients (174 knees) with a mean age of 30.7 years who underwent ACL reconstruction for chronic ACL tears. We divided the patients into two groups: low group (135 knees with a PTS<13degrees) and high group (39 knees with a PTS> or =13degrees).
RESULTS
The incidence of medial meniscus tears was 44% (77/174), and that of lateral meniscus tears was 35% (61/174). The mean PTS in patients with medial meniscal tears was 11.4degrees+/-3.0degrees, whereas that in patients without medial meniscal tears was 9.8degrees+/-2.4degrees. The incidence of meniscal tears was 57.8% (78/135) in the low group and 89.7% (35/39) in the high group (p<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
Our data demonstrate that PTS> or =13degrees is a risk factor for secondary medial meniscal tears in ACL-deficient knees. So, we suggest that PTS is one of the considerations for determining early ACL reconstruction to prevent secondary meniscal tears.

Keyword

Chronic anterior cruciate ligament deficient knee; Medial meniscal tear; Posterior tibial slope

MeSH Terms

Anterior Cruciate Ligament
Humans
Incidence
Knee
Menisci, Tibial
Risk Factors