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Long sports career and satisfactory clinical outcomes after Meniscal Allograft Transplantation (MAT) in young professional athletes involved in strenuous sports

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Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

To assess the return to sport rate of young professional athletes, to analyze their careers in terms of matches played and league participation over a minimum period of 6 years after Meniscal Allograft Transplantation (MAT), as well as to assess the long-term clinical subjective outcomes and satisfaction.

Methods

Thirteen professional athletes (ten soccer and one basketball players, one fencer and one wrestler) with a mean age at surgery of 23.4 ± 4.0 underwent MAT (six medial, seven lateral). The time required to return to sport, post-operative performance level and the number of reoperations were evaluated. At an average follow-up of 9.0 ± 2.8 years, Lysholm, KOOS and Cincinnati scores were administered and collected.

Results

Thirteen patients (100%) returned to sports practice after an average period of 11.8 ± 3.8 months. Nine athletes (69%) returned to sports at the same pre-injury level. Overall, 93%, 85%, 62% and 55% were active until the 3rd, the 5th, the 7th and the 9th season after MAT, respectively. Seven patients (54%) underwent a reoperation after MAT, where only two of them (15%) were related to graft problems (one meniscectomy and one graft suture). Of the ten athletes that completed subjective evaluation, the mean Lysholm score was 72 ± 15 (0% “Excellent”, 10% “Good”, 60% “Fair”, 30% “Poor”). Of the athletes with lower scores, one suffered from patellar tendon rupture, one from post-operative infection and one from a previous femoral fracture. The mean Cincinnati knee score was 77 ± 18, while the average KOOS values were 60 ± 34 for sports.

Conclusion

Meniscal Allograft Transplantation (MAT) in young professional athletes involved in strenuous activities allowed all patients to return to pre-injury sport and in nearly 70% of cases at their pre-injury level. After five seasons following MAT, 85% of patients were still active or playing more than 20–30 matches per season. On the other hand, nearly 50% underwent at least one reoperation and only 70% of patients were rated as “Good”, or “Fair” using the Lysholm score.

Level of evidence

IV.

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Acknowledgements

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Via Manzoni 113, 20089, Rozzano, MI, Italy

    Tommaso Bonanzinga, Daniele Altomare, Nicolò Danilo Vitale & Maurilio Marcacci

  2. II Clinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Via Giulio Cesare Pupilli 1, 40136, Bologna, Italy

    Alberto Grassi & Stefano Zaffagnini

Authors
  1. Tommaso Bonanzinga
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  2. Alberto Grassi
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  3. Daniele Altomare
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  4. Nicolò Danilo Vitale
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  5. Stefano Zaffagnini
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  6. Maurilio Marcacci
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Correspondence to Alberto Grassi.

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Approved by Local Ethical Committee of the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, Bologna, Italy (Protocol No. 0021258).

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Bonanzinga, T., Grassi, A., Altomare, D. et al. Long sports career and satisfactory clinical outcomes after Meniscal Allograft Transplantation (MAT) in young professional athletes involved in strenuous sports. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 30, 2314–2319 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-021-06779-2

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