Clinical and Instrumental Assessment of Meniscal ROOT Tears Treated Through Suture to the Posterior Cruciate Ligament
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- This is an observational study: the protocol does not assign a study treatment.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Meniscus Tear, Meniscus Lesion, Knee Injuries. Basic parameters: 18 years — 50 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Italy
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Overview
The menisci are crucial for knee stability and functionality. Composed of fibrocartilaginous structure, they have an anatomical and biomechanical arrangement that makes them essential for load transmission and the prevention of osteoarthritis. Meniscal root lesions, known as "ROOT tears," compromise their protective function on the cartilage, leading to increased contact pressures between the tibia and femur and, over time, the development of osteoarthritis. Early diagnosis of these lesions is difficult and often the first detection is incidental. The subsequent challenges are significant due to a lack of pre-operative planning. A possible solution is a surgical technique involving arthroscopic suture of the posterior meniscal root along with the posterior cruciate ligament. This procedure does not require pre-operative planning and is applicable even in cases of incidental diagnosis.
Primary outcome measures
- RMN [Time frame: 24 months after surgery]
Secondary outcome measures (6)
- Weight-bearing ultrasound [Time frame: 24 months after surgery]
- Physical examination [Time frame: 24 months after surgery]
- International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) [Time frame: 24 months after surgery]
- Lysholm Knee Score [Time frame: 24 months after surgery]
- VAS (Visual Analog Scale) [Time frame: 24 months after surgery]
- Tegner Score [Time frame: 24 months after surgery]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Age between 18 and 50 years at the time of surgery;
- Male and female gender;
- Patients undergoing surgical treatment for at least one year for "ROOT" type meniscal lesions using arthroscopic suturing to the posterior cruciate ligament;
- Pre-operative MRI performed.
Exclusion criteria
- Patients no longer reachable;
- Patients who refuse consent to the study;
- Previous meniscectomy before surgery;
- Previous ligament injuries before surgery;
- New traumatic injuries after surgery;
- Advanced knee osteoarthritis (Outerbridge grade III-IV) at the time of surgery;
- Severe knee malalignment (> 5°) at the time of surgery;
- Severe obesity (BMI > 35);
- Lower limb conditions preventing full weight-bearing during evaluation;
- Infection or hematological/rheumatic conditions at the time of evaluation.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
Study locations
Italy · 1 center
- IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli — Bologna
Identifiers
NCT: NCT06507241 · ROOT-PCL