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Surgery of the Meniscus pp 225–235Cite as

Meniscal Repair: Enhancement of Healing Process

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Abstract

The meniscus is a crucial player in knee homeostasis, and its preservation is now considered necessary to obtain satisfactory clinical results, above all in the long-term follow-up to avoid the future onset of arthritis. Most of the current meniscal repair techniques are effective in the vascularized zone of the meniscus but fail to promote healing in the avascular zone. For this reason, aiming for improved healing of the meniscus, in addition to fixation techniques and devices, several biologic adjunctive methods have been proposed. They are focused on the delivery of “factors” or “agents” to promote the tissue healing, so that many more patients might benefit from the procedures for the preservation of the menisci. Beyond the most traditional augmentation techniques such as vascular access channel, trephination, abrasion, synovial flaps, and fibrin glue/clot, more recently growth factors, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have also gained attention due to their ability to improve tissue healing, especially in the avascular zone. In this chapter in vitro and clinical findings concerning these augmentation techniques are described and discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank to Silvia Bassini, Biomechanics and Technology Innovation Laboratory, Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, Bologna, Italy, and Keith Smith, Task Force, Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, Bologna, Italy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Orthopaedic Biotechnology Laboratory, IRCCS Galeazzi Orthopaedic Institute, Via R. Galeazzi 4, Milan, 20161, Italy

    Laura de Girolamo & Marco Viganò

  2. II Orthopaedic and Traumatologic Clinic – Biomechanics and Technology Innovation Laboratory – Nano-Biotechnology Laboratory, Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, Via Di Barbiano, 1/10, Bologna, 40136, Italy

    Giuseppe Filardo & Stefano Zaffagnini

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  1. Laura de Girolamo
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  2. Giuseppe Filardo
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  3. Marco Viganò
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  4. Stefano Zaffagnini
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Correspondence to Giuseppe Filardo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Orthopaedics & Traumatology, Unit INSERM, Normandy University, Caen university Hos, Caen, France

    Christophe Hulet

  2. Orthopedic Department, Centro Hospitalar Póvoa de Varzim –Vila, Póvoa de Varzim, Porto, Portugal

    Helder Pereira

  3. University of Milan, Dpt. of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Milano, Italy

    Giuseppe Peretti

  4. Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Monza, Italy

    Matteo Denti

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de Girolamo, L., Filardo, G., Viganò, M., Zaffagnini, S. (2016). Meniscal Repair: Enhancement of Healing Process. In: Hulet, C., Pereira, H., Peretti, G., Denti, M. (eds) Surgery of the Meniscus. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-49188-1_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-49188-1_23

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