Lateral meniscal lesions in patients with clinically suspected medial lesions.

Double-contrast arthrography and arthroscopy were performed in a prospective study on 46 consecutive patients clinically suspected of having a medial meniscal tear only. At arthrography, 38 torn medial menisci were found; four of them were, however, false-positive and another false-negative as compared with arthroscopic examination. Moreover, seven unsuspected lateral meniscal tears were diagnosed at both arthrography and arthroscopy. The diagnostic accuracy of the double-contrast arthrography was well above the clinical accuracy, and we conclude that arthrography is a reliable method for diagnosing both medial and lateral tears.