Abstract
Meniscus-to-femoral condyle congruity is essential for the development of circumferential hoop stresses and thus function of the meniscus. When meniscal allograft transplantation is performed using bony anchorage of the insertional ligaments, accurate graft-to-host size matching is therefore essential. The standard method currently employed for size matching of meniscal allografts is to rely on plain radiographs of the host's knee, from which expected meniscal dimensions are measured. This study aimed to examine the correlation between tibial plateau dimensions and meniscal dimensions. We studied 44 donor tibial plateaus with medial and lateral meniscal allografts attached intact. Meniscal and tibial plateau dimensions were measured. Linear regression analysis was used to calculate expected meniscal dimensions from each specimen's plateau dimensions. Using specific medial and lateral tibial plateau width and length measurements, meniscal dimensions could be predicted with a mean error of only 5.0±6.4%. When predicting meniscal dimensions from only total bony plateau width, the mean error observed was 6.2±8.0%. The difference between the two methods was not statistically significant. The results suggest that meniscal dimensions can be predicted accurately from tibial plateau measurements, with only small mean errors. However, potential size mismatches should be carefully borne in mind by surgeons using meniscal allografts.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arkel ER van, de Boer HH (2002) Survival analysis of human meniscal transplantations. J Bone Joint Surg Br 84:227–231
Cameron JC, Saha S (1997) Meniscal allograft transplantation for unicompartmental arthritis of the knee. Clin Orthop 337:164–171
Carpenter JE, Wojtys EM, Houston LJ (1993) Preoperative sizing of meniscal allografts. Arthroscopy 9:344
Garrett JC, Stevensen R (1991) Meniscal transplantation in the human knee: a preliminary report. Arthroscopy 7:57–62
Haut TL, Hull ML, Howell SM (2000) Use of roentgenography and magnetic resonance imaging to predict meniscal geometry determined with a three-dimensional coordinate digitizing system. J Orthop Res 18:228–237
Lazovic D, Wirth CJ, Knosel T, Gosse M, Maschek HG (1997) Meniscus replacement using incongruent transplants—an experimental study. Z Orthop Ihre Grenzgeb 135:131–137
Milachowski KA, Weismeier K, Wirth CJ (1989) Homologous meniscus transplantation. Experimental and clinical results. Int Orthop 13:1–11
Pollard ME, Kang Q, Berg EE (1995) Radiographic sizing for meniscal transplantation. Arthroscopy 11:684–687
Rath E, Richmond JC, Yassir W, Albright JD, Gundogan F (2001) Meniscal allograft transplantation. Two- to eight-year results. Am J Sports Med 29:410–414
Rodeo SA (2001) Meniscal allografts-where do we stand? Am J Sports Med 29:246–261
Rodeo SA, Seneviratne A, Suzuki K, Felker K, Wickiewicz TL, Warren RF (2000) Histological analysis of human meniscal allografts. J Bone Joint Surg Am 82:1071–1082
Sekaran SV, Hull ML, Howell SM (2002) Nonanatomic location of the posterior horn of a medial meniscal autograft implanted in a cadaveric knee adversely affects the pressure distribution on the tibial plateau. Am J Sports Med 30:74–82
Shaffer B, Kennedy S, Klimkiewicz J, Yao L (2000) Preoperative sizing of meniscal allografts in meniscus transplantation. Am J Sports Med 28:524–533
Shelton WR, Dukes AD (1994) Meniscus replacement with bone anchors: a surgical technique. Arthroscopy 10:324–327
Stollsteimer GT, Shelton WR, Dukes A, Bomboy AL (2000) Meniscal allograft transplantation: a 1- to 5-year follow-up of 22 patients. Arthroscopy 16:343–347
Stone KR, Stoller DW, Irving SG, Elmquist C, Gildengorin G (1994) 3D MRI volume sizing of knee meniscus cartilage. Arthroscopy 10:641–644
Urban WP Jr, Nyland J, Caborn DN, Johnson DL (1999) The radiographic position of medial and lateral meniscal horns as a basis for meniscal reconstruction. Arthroscopy 15:147–154
Veltri DM, Warren RF, Wickiewicz TL, O'Brien SJ (1994) Current status of allograft meniscal transplantation. Clin Orthop 303:44–55
Verdonk R, Van-Daele P, Claus B, Van den Abbeele K, Desmet P, Hurel C, Verbruggen G, Veys E, Claessens H (1998) Viable meniscal transplantation. Acta Orthop Belg 64 [Suppl 2]:70–75
Wilcox TR, Goble EM (1996) Indications for meniscal allograft reconstruction. Am J Knee Surg 9:35–36
Wilcox TR, Goble EM, Doucette SA (1996) Goble technique of meniscus transplantation. Am J Knee Surg 9:37–42
Acknowledgements
This project was funded by a grant from the UK National Blood Service. We thank specifically Mr. J. Foreman and Mrs. K. Richardson for their assistance with this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McDermott, I.D., Sharifi, F., Bull, A.M.J. et al. An anatomical study of meniscal allograft sizing. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 12, 130–135 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-003-0366-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-003-0366-7