RESUMO
Objective To study the clinical features of meniscal cyst of the knee. Methods From January 2001 to December 2007,totally 5986 cases of meniscus operation were performed in our hospital,104 of them were diagnosed as having meniscal cyst in the knee. The clinical data of these patients,including gender and age distributions,causes and mechanism of injury,clinical presentations,characteristics of the cyst,and the type of the injury,were investigated. Results Incidence rate of meniscal cyst was 1.7% (104/5986) and the ratio between medial and lateral meniscal cysts was 1∶12 (8∶96). The mean age of the 104 patients was (30.7?12.2) years (range,13 to 65 years),and the radio of male to female was 1.2 to 1. Of the patients,60 cases (57.7%) had history of trauma,32 or them were hurt in sports,including football (11 cases),basketball (8 cases) and others. The most common primary symptom was pain (102 cases,98.1%),followed by swelling (50 cases,48.1%). Tenderness over the joint line (85 cases,81.7%) and palpable mass (79 cases,76.0%) with or without signs of meniscal tear were common presentations. The anterior and middle portions of the medial meniscus (5/8,62.5%),and posterior extension of the lateral meniscus (88/96,91.7%) were the most commonly involved sites (?2=15.167,P=0.000). The most frequently observed meniscal tear was a horizontal cleavage,alone (25/104,24.0%) or associated with another types of lesions (52/104,50.0%). In 5.8% (6/104) of the cases,the discoid meniscus was involved. Conclusions Meniscus cysts are unusual. The ratio between medial and lateral meniscal cysts favors the lateral meniscus. Meniscal tear and myxoid degeneration are the common causes of the cyst. The most frequently observed meniscal tear is a horizontal cleavage,and the anterior and middle portions of the medial meniscus and posterior extensions of the lateral meniscus are the most commonly involved sites.
RESUMO
PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy of arthroscopic decompression of the meniscal cyst. MATERIAL AND METHOD: From January 1996 to December 1997, 8 patients with meniscal cyst were treated by arthroscopic cyst decompression as well as partial meniscectomy of torn menisci. The average follow-up was 18.8 months(range: 12~35 months). There were 6 men and 2 women and the average age was 38.1 years(range: 26 to 56 years). Six(75%) patients had no history of trauma associated with their symptoms. All the meniscal cysts were associated with horizontal tear of the menisci. The arthroscopic partial meniscectomy consisted of gentle trimming of leading edge of the superior leaf and excision out to peripheral rim of the inferior leaf, followed by intraarticular cyst decompression using probe, punch for-ceps or shaver with pressure over the cyst. Postoperative results were assessed according to the evaluation form of Glasgow et al. RESULT: The ratio of medial-to-lateral cyst formation was 1:1. Meniscal cysts were always associated with horizontal tears of the meniscus. The patterns of horizontal tear consisted of 2 horizontal/cleav-age(25%), 2 horizontal/flap(25%), and 4 horizontal/ degenerative complex tears(50%). The sites of meniscal tears were the posterior horn-midbody junction of the medial meniscus in 4, the anterior horn-midbody junction of the lateral meniscus in 3 and the midbody of the lateral meniscus in 1. We could get excellent or good results in all the patients with no recurrence of the cyst. CONCLUSIONS: The treatment of the meniscal cyst can be entirely arthroscopic(partial meniscectomy and intraarticular decompression of the cyst) with predictable success.