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Abstract

Objective: To study the outcome of arthroscopic treatment of meniscal cysts in patients diagnosed with meniscal tears in an Asiatic population.
Methods: The study was conducted from May 2011 to Jan 2014 in 25 patients including 10 males and 15 females with mean age of 30.88 years. Patients were regularly followed up to a minimum period of 6 months ranging from 6-18 months. There were 21 cysts of lateral meniscus and 4 involving medial meniscus.
Results: All patients of meniscal cysts had associated meniscal tears most commonly horizontal tears, which were present in 21 radial tears in 3 and oblique in 1 patient. The mean time to return to work after arthroscopic treatment of cysts was 17.1 days. There were 3 cases of fluid extravasation, 4 cases of knee effusion, 2 cases of portal site pain and one case of locking. There was no case of cyst recurrence. The mean preoperative Tegner activity level in our study was 1.9 and Tegner activity at final follow up was 3.4. The mean Lysholm score before surgery was 63.2 and at final follow up was 93.4.
Conclusion: We conclude that arthroscopic treatment of meniscal cysts is a well-established and effective method of treatment with less complication rate and early return to work.
Keywords: Meniscus; tear; cyst; arthroscopy; decompression