IC 01-2025 Meniscus Preservation—What You Need to Know in 2025 (CME)-IC 01-2025 Meniscus Preservation

Video Transcription

Video Summary

This expert panel discussion focuses on meniscus preservation, addressing challenges, treatment techniques, and outcomes for various meniscal tears. Dr. Seth Sherman highlights the importance of early recognition and repair of meniscal root tears, noting their similarity to total meniscectomy in impact and emphasizing transosseous pull-through repair as the gold standard. He discusses technical nuances, fixation methods, and emerging suture devices, acknowledging the ongoing debate about extrusion management.<br /><br />Dr. Cassandra Lee covers bucket handle tears, advocating for repair due to the meniscus's healing potential and emphasizing biologic augmentation techniques like marrow venting, rasping, and fibrin clot application to enhance repair success, alongside selection of suture technique based on surgeon comfort.<br /><br />Dr. Amit Mamaya addresses medial meniscal ramp lesions, prevalent in ACL injuries. He outlines diagnosis challenges, including MRI sensitivity limitations and physical exam findings, and reviews varied treatment options from observation to inside-out or all-inside repairs, citing mixed evidence on the necessity of repair for stable lesions.<br /><br />Discussion also touches on radial tear repairs, meniscal transplantation techniques, and future directions involving biologics and synthetic implants. Panelists agree on the value of biologic augmentation (e.g., marrow venting) but note limited high-level evidence supporting advanced orthobiologics in practice. Surgical decisions incorporate patient factors such as cartilage status, alignment, and symptomatology rather than age alone, with consensus that repair is worthwhile in active patients with favorable joint conditions. Overall, the session underscores that meniscal pathology is heterogeneous, requiring individualized, anatomy-specific approaches and ongoing research to optimize preservation strategies.

Keywords

meniscus preservation

meniscal root tears

transosseous pull-through repair

bucket handle tears

biologic augmentation

medial meniscal ramp lesions

ACL injuries

meniscal transplantation

radial tear repairs