Arthroscopic meniscal repair for Discoid Meniscus tied to significant functional improvement: study

Dr Supreeth  D R

Arthroscopic meniscal repair for Discoid Meniscus tied to significant functional improvement: study

Written By : Dr Supreeth D R Published On 2026-02-18T20:00:28+05:30 | Updated On 18 Feb 2026 8:00 PM IST

Discoid meniscus (DM) is a congenital anomaly of the meniscus form that predisposes individuals to symptomatic DM, especially in the lateral meniscus. Arthroscopic meniscal repair has emerged as the preferred treatment approach for symptomatic cases, prioritizing meniscal preservation to maintain knee joint integrity and function.

Shankar BR et al conducted a study to evaluate the radiological and functional outcome of arthroscopic meniscal repair of DM using validated clinical scores and post-operative imaging.

A prospective observational study was conducted on 40 patients aged 10–40 years at a tertiary care hospital. Arthroscopic meniscal repair consisted of an all-inside procedure, an inside-out procedure, or an outside-in procedure, based on the involved location. Functional outcomes of the post-operation have been determined, as well as the pre-operative rating systems of the Lysholm Knee Score on functionality. Minimum follow-up of the patients (24 months into the future) was followed to verify short-term healing, besides checking the long-term effects of the patients at earlier patients.

The key findings of the study were:

• The majority of patients were male (60%) and presented with symptoms such as knee pain and thud (43.33%).

• The mean pre-operative Lysholm score was 56.20, which significantly improved to 91.29 postoperatively (P < 0.001).

• According to the Lysholm score grading, 83.3% of patients achieved good outcomes, 3.33% excellent, and 13.3% fair.

• No poor outcomes were observed.

• Radiology showed satisfactory joint presentation in all cases.

The authors declared a clinical message that – “Arthroscopic meniscal surgery with saucerization of discoid lateral meniscus with symptomatic discoid lateral meniscus in high percent rates of good and excellent results, substantial functional improvement, and substantial Lysholm and IKDC scores. The findings of this research have demonstrated that early anatomically preservative treatments decrease the probability of degenerative alterations over the long period and, at the same time, restore knee stability and mobility. The consistency of results in the patient cohort validating the methodology of the methodology is favorable to the implementation of the application of this method of a more regular treatment to the group of patients of the small age and young adults.”

MBBS, Dip. Ortho, DNB ortho, MNAMS

Dr Supreeth D R (MBBS, Dip. Ortho, DNB ortho, MNAMS) is a practicing orthopedician with interest in medical research and publishing articles. He completed MBBS from mysore medical college, dip ortho from Trivandrum medical college and sec. DNB from Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru. He has expirence of 7years in the field of orthopedics. He has presented scientific papers & posters in various state, national and international conferences. His interest in writing articles lead the way to join medical dialogues. He can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.