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Why lateral meniscectomy is more dangerous than medial meniscectomy. A finite element study
Author(s) -
Peña Estefania,
Calvo Begoña,
Martinez Miguel Angel,
Palanca Daniel,
Doblaré Manuel
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of orthopaedic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.041
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1554-527X
pISSN - 0736-0266
DOI - 10.1002/jor.20037
Subject(s) - articular cartilage , biomechanics , medicine , cartilage , joint (building) , subchondral bone , anatomy , osteoarthritis , knee joint , degeneration (medical) , orthodontics , surgery , structural engineering , pathology , engineering , alternative medicine
Total meniscectomies are commonly thought to cause progressive degenerative arthrosis pathology in articular cartilage in a period of a few years because of alteration of the biomechanical environment including increased joint instability. This concern has lead to a preference for partial meniscectomies, although lateral partial meniscectomies sometimes lead to catastrophic results. We performed a three‐dimensional finite element model of the human tibiofemoral joint to examine the effect of lateral meniscectomy on knee biomechanics. The results were compared to those from modeling a medial meniscectomy. Under axial femoral compressive loads, the peak contact stress and maximum shear stress in the articular cartilage increased 200% more after a lateral than a medial meniscectomy. These increased stresses could partly explain the higher cartilage degeneration observed after a lateral meniscectomy. © 2006 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res