title: Changes in Contact Area in Meniscus Horizontal Cleavage Tears Subjected to Repair and Resection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the changes in tibiofemoral contact pressure and contact area in human knees with a horizontal cleavage tear before and after treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten human cadaveric knees were tested. Pressure sensors were placed under the medial meniscus and the knees were loaded at twice the body weight for 20 cycles at 0°, 10°, and 20° of flexion. Contact area and pressure were recorded for the intact meniscus, the meniscus with a horizontal cleavage tear, after meniscal repair, after partial meniscectomy (single leaflet), and after subtotal meniscectomy (double leaflet).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The presence of a horizontal cleavage tear significantly increased average peak contact pressure and reduced effective average tibiofemoral contact area at all flexion angles tested compared with the intact state (P < .03). There was approximately a 70% increase in contact pressure after creation of the horizontal cleavage tear. Repairing the horizontal cleavage tear restored peak contact pressures and areas to within 15% of baseline, statistically similar to the intact state at all angles tested (P < .05). Partial meniscectomy and subtotal meniscectomy significantly increased average peak contact pressure and reduced average contact area at all degrees of flexion compared with the intact state (P < .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of a horizontal cleavage tear in the medial meniscus causes a significant reduction in contact area and a significant elevation in contact pressure. These changes may accelerate joint degeneration. A suture-based repair of these horizontal cleavage tears returns the contact area and contact pressure to nearly normal, whereas both partial and subtotal meniscectomy lead to significant reductions in contact area and significant elevations in contact pressure within the knee. Repairing horizontal cleavage tears may lead to improved clinical outcomes by preserving meniscal tissue and the meniscal function.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Understanding contact area and peak contact pressure resulting from differing strategies for treating horizontal cleavage tears will allow the surgeon to evaluate the best strategy for treating his or her patients who present with this meniscal pathology.
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Orthopaedic Studies, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Brandon S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Beamer
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Orthopaedic Studies, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Kempland C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Walley
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Orthopaedic Studies, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okajima
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Orthopaedic Studies, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Ohan S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Manoukian
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Orthopaedic Studies, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perez-Viloria
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: DeAngelis
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Arun J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ramappa
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Orthopaedic Studies, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.. Electronic address: anazaria@bidmc.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Ara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nazarian
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D011312:Pressure; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D000070600:Tibial Meniscus Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*