Using intra-articular techniques for meniscal repair, several factors
associated with meniscal lesions were analyzed prospectively to determine
their effects on healing of the repair. Although 260 medial or lateral
meniscal repairs in 240 patients were done, 178 repairs in the 167 patients
who were followed by postoperative arthroscopy or arthrography form the
basis of this study. The results of the repairs were classified as healed,
incompletely healed, or not healed. The average duration of follow-up was
100 weeks (range, twenty-eight to 231 weeks). By arthrographic or
arthroscopic criteria, 61.8 per cent of the menisci healed, 16.9 per cent
healed incompletely, and 21.3 per cent did not heal. Ninety-two per cent of
the menisci were categorized as clinically stable, and 80 per cent of the
patients returned to active sports participation. Positive correlations
with healing were found in patients who had a narrow peripheral meniscal
rim (zero to two millimeters) (p = 0.03) and in patients who had a repair
that was associated with reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament
(p = 0.0001).