Medial meniscus repairs

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Abstract
In an effort to determine the healing potential of medial meniscus tears, 20 canine and 12 rhesus knee joints were subjected to transverse medial meniscus lacer ation and repair with a single Dexon suture (Davis & Geck, Pearl River, NY). At four months, 12 out of 32 (38%) had healed completely with restoration of the inner meniscal rim and 18 (56%) showed partial heal ing sufficient to protect the underlying articular carti lage. Only 2 (6%) of the menisci failed to heal. Histo logic evaluation showed that the scar tissue present in the menisci was composed of unorganized collagen without common ground substance components. As a result of these studies, we believe that certain men iscal tears, particularly those involving the vascular periphery, can heal and may be repaired rather than treated by meniscectomy.