The purposes of this multi-center study were: (a) to document the location and type of meniscal and chondral lesions that accompany anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears, and (b) to test for possible relationships between these lesions and patient age, time from initial injury (TFI), and sports level (i.e., recreation, amateur, professional, and national). The cases of 764 patients with ACL tears who underwent arthroscopy for the first time were retrospectively analyzed. The group included 684 males and 80 females of mean age 27 years (range 14-59 years). The mean TFI was 19.8 months (range 0.2-360 months). Eighty-seven percent of the group engaged in regular sporting activity. Thirty-seven percent had medial meniscal tears, 16% had lateral meniscal tears, and 20% had tears of both menisci. The most common tear types were longitudinal tears in the posterior and middle horns of both menisci. Tears of the lateral meniscus were more centrally located than those of the medial meniscus. Incomplete tears and radial tears were significantly more common in the lateral meniscus. Nineteen percent of the knees had one or more chondral lesions. Sixty percent of the chondral lesions were located in the medial tibio-femoral compartment. Patient age was statistically associated with presence of a medial meniscal tear, presence of a grade 3 or 4 chondral lesion, and presence of a complex tear of the medial meniscus. Sports level was not statistically related to any of the parameters studied. The odds of having a medial meniscal tear at 2 to 5 years TFI were 2.2 times higher than the odds in the first year post-injury, and the odds at >5 years were 5.9 times higher than at 0 to 12 months TFI. The frequency of lateral meniscal tear remained fairly constant at 2 years TFI. The odds of having a grade 3 or 4 chondral lesion were 2.7 times greater at 2 to 5 years TFI than they were at 1 year post-injury, and these odds increased to 4.7 when patients at >5 years TFI were compared to those in the 2 to 5 years category. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that TFI and age were equally important predictors of lateral meniscal tears and of grade 3 or 4 chondral lesions; however, TFI was the better predictor of medial meniscal tear.

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In this study, the results of open-wedge osteotomy with Puddu plate for the treatment of varus gonarthrosis have been evaluated prospectively. This study assessed 65 knees of 60 patients with varus gonarthrosis who underwent high tibial osteotomies. Our study population consisted of 13 male and 47 female patients with a mean age of 54 (range 39-76) years. For the clinical evaluation of the patients Hospital of Special Surgery (HSS) score, American Knee Society and Oxford knee scores, and for the radiological assessment mechanical axis deviation (MAD), lateral distal femoral angle (LDFA), medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA), femorotibial angle and Insall-Salvati index were basically taken into consideration. Our patients were followed up for an average of 34 (range 18-60) months. In the last assessments of our cases, mean improvements detected in HSS scores, Oxford knee scores, knee and functional scores of Knee Society were 26.72, 19.18, 49.9, and 30 points, respectively. The radiological examinations revealed that their mechanical axes on the average passed 5.09 mm laterally achieving an average of 6.5 degrees genu valgum, and a mean Insall-Salvati index of 1.09. As complications, superficial wound infection in two patients (3%), implant infections in one patient (1.5%), deep vein thrombosis in two patients (3%), peroperative lateral tibial plateau fracture in one patient (1.5%), and postoperative lateral tibial plateau fracture due to a falling down were encountered. According to the results obtained, postoperative pain resolves promptly and a significant degree of improvement of knee functions of the patients are achieved. Therefore, we believe that high tibial osteotomy with a Puddu plate is a valuable alternative to total knee arthroplasty in cases with varus gonarthrosis. Although early results are satisfactory, long-term follow-up studies are required especially in the middle aged and elderly patient populations.

In this study, mid to long-term results of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with hamstring tendons and Transfix technique were evaluated. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with four-strand hamstring tendon was performed with Transfix technique on 271 (198 males, 73 females; mean age 25.7; 17-52) patients with anterior cruciate ligament ruptures. The patients were followed up with clinical examination, Lysholm and Tegner activity scales, IKDC scoring system, KT-1000 test and radiological examination. The mean follow-up period was 82 (48-100) months; 204 (75%) patients had no subjective complaints. According to the KT-1000 test, only 14 (5%) patients had more than 5 mm laxity postoperatively, whereas, 161 (59%) patients had more than 5 mm laxity preoperatively. In addition to this, only 19 (7%) patients had Lysholm scores less than 80 postoperatively, whereas 154 (57%) patients scored less than 80 preoperatively. When compared with Tegner activity scale, 189 (70%) patients scored<6 preoperatively and only 24 (8%) postoperatively; 78 (29%) patients scored D preoperatively and only 5 (2%) patients scored D postoperatively on the basis of the IKDC scoring system. Our functional results were found to be satisfactory in more than 90% of patients. Commonly seen problems in ACL reconstruction such as inaccurate graft placement and tunnel widening were found to be consistent with the values in relevant literature. However, we demonstrated that the functional results and the stability of the knee were not related with tunnel widening. This study concludes that the reconstruction of ACL with hamstring tendons and the Transfix technique is reasonably successful, safe and causes low morbidity. Furthermore, we believe that proper graft preparation, accurate tunnel placement, notch-plasty, fixation and rehabilitation program are all as important as the choice of graft and fixation material.

This in vitro biomechanical study with cyclic loading compared the pullout strength of vertical, horizontal, and oblique sutures used for meniscal lesion repair. Following repair of vertical longitudinal lesions created in bovine medial menisci, three groups of seven specimens (vertical, horizontal, and oblique sutures) underwent cyclic loading in a randomized test order (5 mm/min, cycling between 5 and 50 N at 1 Hz for 100 cycles) prior to load to failure testing (5 mm/min). Displacement did not differ between groups during cyclic or load to failure testing. Construct stiffness during cyclic testing was superior for the oblique suture (6.9 +/- 1.5 N/mm, P = 0.007) and the vertical suture (6.4 +/- 7 N/mm, P = 0.03) groups compared to the horizontal suture group (4.4 +/- 0.52 N/mm). The oblique suture (171.9 +/- 25.9 N, P < 0.0001) and the vertical suture (145.9 +/- 32.3 N, P = 0.001) groups displayed superior load at failure compared to the horizontal suture group (88.8 +/- 8.2 N). Construct stiffness during load to failure testing did not differ between groups. Suture rupture was the failure mode for all specimens of the oblique suture group. Suture rupture was the failure mode for 57% (4/7) of the vertical suture group with the remaining specimens (3/7, 43%) failing from intact suture pullout through meniscal tissue. All horizontal suture group specimens failed by intact suture pulling through meniscal tissue. With comparable stiffness during cyclic testing, comparable load at failure as vertical sutures, and less evidence of intact suture pullout through the meniscus, an oblique suture technique may combine the beneficial characteristics of vertical (superior biomechanical strength) and horizontal (ease of application, longer sutures with a tendency to cover a larger meniscal tissue area) suture-repair techniques.