Albishi W, Albaroudi A, Alaseem AM, Aljasser S, Alshaygy I, Addar A. Discoid meniscus: Treatment considerations and updates. World J Orthop 2024; 15(6): 520-528 [PMID: 38947261 DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v15.i6.520]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Amjad Albaroudi, MBBS, Doctor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11362, Saudi Arabia. majoodtlm@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Orthopedics
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Orthop. Jun 18, 2024; 15(6): 520-528 Published online Jun 18, 2024. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v15.i6.520
Discoid meniscus: Treatment considerations and updates
Waleed Albishi, Amjad Albaroudi, Abdulrahman M Alaseem, Sarah Aljasser, Ibrahim Alshaygy, Abdullah Addar
Waleed Albishi, Amjad Albaroudi, Abdulrahman M Alaseem, Sarah Aljasser, Ibrahim Alshaygy, Abdullah Addar, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11362, Saudi Arabia
Author contributions: Albishi W, Alaseem A, Alshaygy I, and Addar A contributed to literature review and gathering information for this article; Albishi A, Albaroudi A, and Aljasser S organized the data and wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/.
Corresponding author: Amjad Albaroudi, MBBS, Doctor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11362, Saudi Arabia. majoodtlm@gmail.com
Received: February 12, 2024 Revised: April 7, 2024 Accepted: April 23, 2024 Published online: June 18, 2024 Processing time: 121 Days and 14.5 Hours
Abstract
A discoid meniscus is a morphological abnormality wherein the meniscus loses its normal ‘C’ shape. Although most patients are asymptomatic, patients might still present with symptoms such as locking, pain, swelling, or giving way. Magnetic resonance imaging is usually needed for confirmation of diagnosis. Based on a constellation of factors, including clinical and radiological, different approaches are chosen for the management of discoid meniscus. The purpose of this review is to outline the treatment of discoid meniscus, starting from conservative approach, to the different surgical options for this condition. The PubMed and Google Scholar databases were used for this review. Studies discussing the treatment of discoid meniscus from 2018 to 2023 were searched. Initially there were 369 studies retrieved, and after removal of studies using the exclusion criteria, 26 studies were included in this review. Factors such as stability, presence of tear, and morphology can help with surgical planning. Many approaches have been used to treat discoid meniscus, where the choice is tailored for each patient individually. Postoperatively, factors that may positively impact patient outcomes include male sex, body mass index < 18.5, age at symptom onset < 25 years, and duration of symptoms < 24 months. The conventional approach is partial meniscectomy with or without repair; however, recently, there has been an increased emphasis on discoid-preserving techniques such as meniscoplasty, meniscopexy, and meniscal allograft transplantation.
Core Tip: Discoid meniscus can be treated both conservatively and surgically. Conservative approach is mainly used for asymptomatic patients, or for patients whose daily activities are not affected. The classic surgical approach for discoid meniscus had always been partial meniscectomy. Nevertheless, there are newer techniques developed aimed at preserving the meniscus like meniscoplasty, meniscopexy, and meniscal allograft transplantation. This study aims to compare the outcomes of the aforementioned techniques and compare them to one another using standardized criteria including the Knee Documentation Committee scores and Lysholm scores.
