Patient's subjective knee function 3-5 years following partial meniscectomy or meniscus repair compared to a normal population: a retrospective cohort study

Purpose Evaluate patient-reported knee function after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) and meniscus suture repair in two different age cohorts compared with a normal population. Method Arthroscopic meniscus surgery was performed on 421 patients at Skane University Hospital from 2010 to 2014, with a mean (SD) follow-up of 4.2 (1.4) years. Patients and controls were divided into two age cohorts; 18-34 years (younger) and 35-54 years (middle-aged) as well as according to surgery performed; either solely meniscus surgery or with concurrent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). The outcome is measured with the five subscales of the Knee and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Results No significant difference in outcome after all studied types of meniscus surgeries between younger-aged and middle-aged patients. Younger patients with APM or meniscus suture repair, with or without, ACLR score lower than the normal population in all subscales of KOOS (p<0.001), except in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) for meniscus suture patients. Middle-aged patients with APM score lower in all subscales than the normal population (p <= 0.009). Those with meniscus suture repair score lower than the normal population only for the subscales Sport/Rec and quality of life (p<0.001). Both younger-aged and middle-aged patients achieve better KOOS values after meniscus suture repair and ACLR than after all other combinations of surgery. Conclusion Patients with meniscus injuries do not reach the same KOOS score as the normal population, irrespective of age or type of meniscus surgery performed. However, combined with ACLR in younger-aged and middle-aged patients, meniscus suture gives a better subjective outcome than isolated meniscus surgery.