Arthroscopic plastic surgery for discoid lateral meniscus and suture of postero-lateral tear under local anesthesia

Objective To study the outcomes of plastic surgery for discoid lateral meniscus and the suture techniques for postero-lateral meniscus tear under local anesthesia. Methods Arthroscopic plastic surgery was performed for 92 patients（99 knees） with discoid lateral meniscus admitted to our hospital from March 2005 to February 2008 under local anesthesia.Of these patients,41（43 knees） had posterolateral meniscus tear which was divided into lateral（A）,posterior（B） and postlateral（C） lesions.These lesions were sutured with different arthroscopic techniques and their clinical outcomes were evaluated using Lysholm knee function scores. Results The operation time was significantly shorter in suture group than in plastic surgery group（P＜0.01）.No significant difference was found in VAS scores between the two groups（P＞0.05）.No severe complication occurred after operation.All patients had a normal life after operation.The mean Lysholm knee function score increased to 97.16±3.46 after operation from 66.74±5.35 before operation（P＜0.01）. Conclusion The arthroscopic suture technique is safe for lateral and postero-lateral meniscus tears under local anesthesia and does not increase sufferings of patients.