All the patients were active, had previous surgery to repair the knee and were an average age of 27. The torn area of the meniscus was surgically removed and donor tissue was put in its place. The new meniscus was evaluated subjectively through questions to the patients, as well as objectively with strength and motion testing. All patients reported at least some improvement with 58 percent reporting being greatly improved. There was only a minor loss of movement following the procedure.
Patients also say they returned to normal or nearly normal daily living.
While there was a favorable response on ability to return to sports, Dr. Groff says he does not advocate the return to high-demand sports following a meniscal transplant. Dr. Groff says these findings are encouraging for the use of meniscus transplant in patients with meniscal tears. In response to Dr. Groff's presentation, a number of questions were raised indicating the need for further studies on this procedure before it can be confirmed to be more effective than traditional procedures. This study took a look at patients who had previously undergone the transplant. Researchers suggest a new study is needed to compare the outcomes of this transplant to similar procedures that use synthetic materials and rehabilitation techniques using braces.