Meniscal allograft transplantation: A 1- to 5-year follow-up of 22 patients

Between October 1991 and December 1995, a total of 22 patients (23 knees) u nderwent meniscal transplantation with nonirradiated, cryopreserved allogra fts. Implantation was arthroscopically assisted using bone plugs to prevent meniscal extrusion and maintain weight-bearing functional position, Patien ts were evaluated with an average follow-up of 40 months (range, 13 to 69 m onths) using the International Knee Documentation Committee, Lysholm, and T egner scoring systems. The most significant finding was pain reduction afte r implantation. Lateral and standing anteroposterior radiographs were obtai ned on all patients at follow-up with an average joint space loss of 0.882 mm (range, 0 to 3 mm). Magnetic resonance imaging was preformed on both kne es in 12 of the 22 patients at an average of 24.4 months postoperatively. O n average, the allograft meniscus was 63% (range, 31% to 100%) the size of the normal meniscus. Clinical results showed improvement of preoperative pa in in all patients. Although patients continue to have good pain relief fol lowing their meniscal allograft transplantation, the average shrinkage in t he size of the meniscus as shown on magnetic resonance imaging is a concern .