Yonsei Med J.  2015 May;56(3):753-759. 10.3349/ymj.2015.56.3.753.

Bilateral Occurrence and Morphologic Analysis of Complete Discoid Lateral Meniscus

• Chung JY
• Roh JH
• Kim JH
• Kim JJ
• Min BH

• KMID: 2450350
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2015.56.3.753

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of the study was to investigate and analyze bilateral incidence and morphology of complete discoid lateral meniscus (DLM) with possible relation to tears and symptoms in knee joints.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty-eight consecutive patients with symptomatic or already-torn complete DLM on magnetic resonance imaging in a unilateral knee underwent diagnostic arthroscopy on both knee joints upon agreement. The presence and shape of complete DLM as well as presence and pattern of tear were recorded accordingly.
RESULTS
In total, 89.5% (34 of 38 patients) showed bilateral complete DLM, and 84.2% yielded bilateralism with identical shape. Cape-slab was the most frequent shape, comprising 68.8% of patients with identically-shaped bilateral DLM overall. Tear patterns were more frequent, in the order of longitudinal, simple horizontal, radial, and degenerative; however, the morphological shape of complete DLM was not significantly related to tear incidence or pattern. Meniscus tears and knee symptoms occurred in the contralateral knee with incidences of 32.4% and 26.5% in patients with bilateral complete DLM, respectively.
CONCLUSION
Based on these findings, more aggressive warning on the presence of discoid pathology and the need for evaluation on the contralateral knee should be considered during consultation with patients with symptomatic complete DLM in a unilateral knee in the outpatient clinic.

Keyword

Knee; discoid; lateral meniscus; bilaterality; morphology

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Arthroscopy/*methods
Female
Humans
Incidence
Knee Joint/*pathology
Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods
Male
Menisci, Tibial/*injuries/surgery
Middle Aged
Musculoskeletal Abnormalities/complications/diagnosis/epidemiology/*surgery
Retrospective Studies
Young Adult

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Classification of the shape of complete discoid lateral meniscus based on the arthroscopic morphology of the medial edge. In axial plane, (A) cape or (B) bay shape. In coronal plane, (C) slab or (D) wedge shape.

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