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Review of the Development of Meniscus Centralization

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

With an aging population, extending healthy life expectancy is a global challenge. Maintaining healthy knee joint function is one of the essential factors to preserve the ability to walk and extend healthy life expectancy. Meniscus centralization was introduced in 2012 as a procedure for meniscus extrusion, one of the causes of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Initially, it was performed only for lateral meniscus (LM) extrusion, and favorable 2-year results were reported in 2016. Gradually, basic studies supporting the effectiveness of meniscus centralization have been reported, and it has also been performed for medial meniscus (MM) extrusion, with some positive results reported. Although the surgical procedures vary among the institutions, the basic concept is to reattach the loosened meniscotibial ligament to the edge of the tibial plateau to re-tension it. This review will discuss the history of development and the current status of meniscus centralization.

Recent Findings

Current research shows that meniscus centralization is not performed in isolation but is often used as an augmentation along with the conventional repair of meniscus injuries, particularly posterior root tears. Biomechanical studies demonstrated that MM centralization with a posteromedial anchor can better restore meniscus function.

Conclusion

Despite its relatively short publication history of just over ten years, meniscus centralization has shown potential as a treatment to curb the progression of knee OA and extend a healthy life. While more evidence is needed, this conclusion underscores the promising role for meniscus centralization, making it a topic of significant interest for knee surgeons and researchers.

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Data Availability

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Joint Surgery and Sports Medicine, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-8519, Japan

    Tomomasa Nakamura & Hideyuki Koga

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  1. Tomomasa Nakamura
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  2. Hideyuki Koga
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T.N. wrote the main manuscript and H.K. reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hideyuki Koga.

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Nakamura, T., Koga, H. Review of the Development of Meniscus Centralization. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-024-09905-y

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