Magnetic resonance imaging of the surgically repaired meniscus: six-month follow-up

The appearance and rate of healing of sutured meniscal repairs in 17 patients were evaluated using magnetic resonance scans. While prior studies in animals and humans (1-4) suggest that complete healing can occur as early as 6 wk postoperatively, we found that at 7 wk 15/15 patients demonstrated meniscal defects at the site of repair. At 6 mo, 11/11 patients showed persistent signal abnormalities. Two patients scanned at 11-12 mo also had defects at the site of repair. Therefore, complete meniscal healing appears not to occur as early as previously believed. This may affect decisions regarding the type of suture material used, the surgical treatment of associated injuries and the postoperative rehabilitation regimen. As defects may be present for relatively long periods of time following meniscal repair, caution must be exercised when attempting to diagnose new or recurrent tears in these patients.