Risk Factors Related to the Presence of Meniscal Injury and Irreparable Meniscal Tear at Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Background: Few studies have attempted to identify risk factors associated with irreparable meniscal tears at anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) and to describe follow-up data, such as the failure rate, after meniscal repair.

Purpose: To investigate the associations of age, sex, body mass index (BMI), time to surgery (TTS), and preinjury Tegner score with the presence of meniscal injuries and irreparable meniscal tears at primary ACLR.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed on 784 patients who underwent primary ACLR by a single surgeon between 2005 and 2017 (406 men and 378 women; mean age, 25.8 years; mean BMI, 23.1; median TTS, 3 months; median preinjury Tegner score, 7). All patients had a minimum follow-up of 12 months (mean postoperative follow-up, 33.0 months). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the association of patient variables with the presence of meniscal injuries and irreparable meniscal tears during primary ACLR.

Results: The risk factor for medial meniscal injuries was TTS ≥3 months (odds ratio [OR], 4.213; 95% CI, 3.104-5.719; < .001). The presence of irreparable medial meniscal tears increased with older age (OR, 1.053; 95% CI, 1.024-1.084; < .001), higher BMI (OR, 1.077; 95% CI, 1.003-1.156; = .042), and TTS ≥3 months (OR, 1.794; 95% CI, 1.046-3.078; = .034). On multivariate analysis, none of the variables were significantly associated with lateral meniscal injuries and irreparable meniscal tears. The failure rate, defined as patients who needed additional medial meniscal surgery after medial meniscal repair, was 4.6%.

Conclusion: Time from ACL injury to reconstruction of ≥3 months was strongly associated with medial meniscal injuries and irreparable medial meniscal tears at primary ACLR. Older age and increased BMI were also risk factors for the presence of irreparable medial meniscal tears at ACLR.