Effects of suture site or penetration depth on anchor location in all-inside meniscal repair.
BACKGROUND
To evaluate the effects of suture site or penetration depth on anchor location in all-inside meniscal repair.


METHODS
Eight fresh-frozen cadaveric knees were evaluated after meniscal repair using eight FasT-Fix360 (FF360) devices (Smith & Nephew Endoscopy, Andover, MA) (16 anchors) for each knee. The penetration depth was 14mm, the distance same from the periphery to insertion point, in four knees (Group A) and that in the remaining four knees (Group B) was 18mm. The anchor location in two groups was evaluated after attentive dissection.


RESULTS
Of 32 anchors for the medial meniscus, 94% were on the capsule, including the superficial medial collateral ligament (sMCL) in both groups. For the lateral meniscus, 47% anchors in Group A and 44% anchors in Group B were on the capsule. Total three anchors were over the lateral collateral ligament (LCL), whereas 15 anchors were behind the popliteus tendon (POP). Although all three anchors settled in the subcutaneous fat were in Group B, no significant difference was observed in anchor location between two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Secure fixation to thin membranous tissue can be achieved for the medial meniscal repair using FF360, while some were located in/on bunchy LCL or POP in lateral meniscal repair. Only anchors with additional four-millimeter penetration depth were in the subcutaneous fat, although there was no effect of the penetration depth to anchor location. Clinically, for lateral meniscal repair, penetrating toward POP/LCL should be avoided and four-millimeter deeper penetration depth might be a risk for the subcutaneous irritation.
Department of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine, Seifu Hospital, Osaka, Japan; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Ryohei
R
Uchida
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan. Electronic address: ta-mae@umin.ac.jp.
Tatsuo
T
Mae
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Kunihiko
K
Hiramatsu
Sports Orthopaedic Center, Yukioka Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
Ryo
R
Iuchi
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Kazutaka
K
Kinugasa
Sports Orthopaedic Center, Yukioka Hospital, Osaka, Japan.
Konsei
K
Shino
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Hideki
H
Yoshikawa
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Ken
K
Nakata
D000368:Aged; D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D053441:Suture Anchors; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000009:adverse effects*
All-inside technique; Anchor location; Cadaveric study; Meniscal repair; Penetration depth