Meniscus Repair Does not Result in an Inferior Short-term Outcome Compared with Meniscus Resection. An Analysis of 5,378 Patients with Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Purpose To compare the preoperative and 1- and 2-year postoperative Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) subscale scores between isolated anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) and ACLR with additional medial meniscus (MM) and/or lateral meniscus (LM) resection or repair. Methods A total of 5,378 patients who underwent primary ACLR, with no associated ligament injuries, at our institution from January 2005 to December 2015, were included. The KOOS subscale scores were used to evaluate patients preoperatively and at 1- and 2-year postoperative follow-ups. Patients with isolated ACLR and ACLR with additional MM resection, MM repair, LM resection, LM repair, MM + LM resection, or MM + LM repair were compared using an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with age, gender, graft and cartilage injury as covariates. Results Postoperatively, at both 1- and 2-year follow-ups, no significant differences were found between the groups for any of the 5 KOOS subscales. Preoperatively, a significant difference between the groups was found for the Symptoms (P Conclusions Patients undergoing isolated ACLR and ACLR with additional MM and/or LM resection or repair obtain equivalent results for any of the KOOS subscales at 1- and 2-year postoperative follow-ups. Differences between the groups are only detectable preoperatively, with patients undergoing ACLR + MM + LM repair showing the lowest scores for the Symptoms, Pain, ADL and Sport/Rec KOOS subscales. Level of Evidence Level III, retrospective comparative therapeutic trial.