Kombinationseingriffe im Rahmen von Meniskustransplantationen

In recent years allogeneic meniscus transplantation has emerged as a promising option for the treatment of patients with postmeniscectomy syndrome to delay the progression of osteoarthritis of the knee. The main indication for this surgical procedure is unicompartmental joint pain combined with meniscus loss, as long as there is no moderate or advanced gonarthritis; however, in addition to the loss of the meniscus there are often other factors that can promote overloading of the meniscus tissue or that can even be seen as the cause of the loss of the meniscus. These factors include instabilities, axial deformities or overweight. These factors should be addressed in one or two stages before meniscus transplantation to avoid failure of this surgical procedure. It is therefore advisable to carry out appropriate diagnostics before every meniscus transplantation.

Another accompanying pathology in allogeneic meniscus transplantation is cartilage damage. In contrast to instabilities or axial deformities, focally shouldered cartilage damage can have a negative impact on the clinical result after a meniscus transplantation but does not represent a significant risk factor for possible transplant failure, if there is no accompanying Ostenarthritis. Therefore, additional surgical treatment of the cartilage damage is to be viewed as secondary in the temporal sequence.

In summary, accompanying pathologies such as anterior instability, axial deformities or cartilage damage are factors that should be taken into account when performing an allogeneic meniscus transplantation.