The residual laxity of medial collateral ligament after magic point pie crusting MCL released in arthroscopic management of medial meniscus

Abstract

Background

In order to do arthroscopic surgery on medial meniscus injuries, there must be enough joint space and good visibility for instrumentation. There is a possibility of iatrogenic cartilage damage if the medial joint space is reduced. Therefore, a medial collateral ligament (MCL) releasing procedure may be necessary for the majority of individuals with medial knee tightness. The MCL residual laxity after pie-crusting release during arthroscopic medial meniscus repair in medial knee tightness were studied in this study.

Methods

Between July 2022 and June 2023, fourteen patients (4 male, 10 female) underwent medial meniscus surgery with pie-crusting release of the superficial MCL. Mean age was 50 ± 10 years (range, 35–63 years). Medial meniscal lesions were meniscus root tear in 10 cases (71.5 %), longitudinal tear in 2 (14.5 %), horizontal tear in 1 (7 %) and radial tear in 1 (7 %). Preoperatively, valgus stress radiographs were obtained. During surgery if arthroscopic exploration revealed medial joint space narrowing after applying valgus force with the knee in 20 degrees of flexion, pie-crusting MCL release was performed. At the 3-month follow-up, valgus stress radiographs were obtained. Residual MCL laxity was assessed by comparing preoperative and 3-month follow-up medial joint space width measurements.

Result

At the 3-month follow-up, no significant increase in the medial joint space width on valgus stress radiograph was observed in comparison to the preoperative. The medial joint space width on valgus stress radiograph was 7.42 ± 1.16 mm preoperatively and 7.47 ± 1.15 mm at 3-month postoperatively (p value = 0.914). All patients had no intraoperative iatrogenic cartilage injury and no saphenous nerve injury after operation.

Conclusions

The magic point pie-crusting MCL release is a reliable and useful procedure to arthroscopic surgery in patients with medial meniscal injury and medial knee tightness. Furthermore, percutaneous pie-crusting MCL release had no effect on residual valgus laxity at the last follow-up.