Meniscal Repair: A Randomized Prospective Trial of FAST-FIX vs. Meniscal Suturing

Meniscal repair resulting in meniscal preservation is the most desirable treatment of a torn meniscus and is one of the most commonly performed arthroscopic procedures. The inside-out meniscal suturing technique allows precise placement of sutures under direct visualization and studies have reported excellent healing rates and low re-tear rates. However, complications associated with the use of the inside-out technique (injury to the knee's neurovascular structures and infection) and the fact that it is a time consuming procedure have generated the development of alternative methods and devices. The FasT-Fix is reported to be quicker and safer. It is applicable to tears in most locations and requires no additional incisions or portals. Even though this and many similar devices are widely used with reported clinical healing rates of 75 -92% and relatively minor complications, few prospective, randomized clinical trials evaluating and comparing different techniques have been carried out. Patient outcome studies are necessary to evaluate which technique ultimately results in the most effective repair and the least patient disability following surgery. We hypothesize that an inside-out suturing technique will have a higher complication rate but a significantly lower failure rate than the FasT-Fix Menisical Repair System