DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTOGENEIC MENISCUS REP LACEMENT

At present no established therapy for the complete loss of meniscus is available. An attempt is made to create a transplant out of autogenei c tissue resembling the meniscus in its morphological and functional a spects, The middle third of the patellar tendon with proximal and dist al bone blocks serves as a basis and is coated with a fascia lata stri p. After temporary subcutaneous transfer, the meniscus substitute is i ntended for later transplantation. The theoretical ideas for the imita tion of a meniscus in view of fibre architecture and biomechanical val idity were tested in 14 sheep. In principal this model succeeds in imi tating the fibre architecture of the menisci. After a conditioning per iod of 8-10 weeks in the subcutaneous tissue, the neomeniscus seems to be suitable for transplantation. The tensile strength of the grafts d ecreases slightly, but the bone blocks stay viable.