Meniscus tears treatment: The good, the bad and the ugly-patterns classification and practical guide

Abstract

Over the years, several studies demonstrated the crucial role of knee menisci in joint biomechanics. As a result, save the meniscus has become the new imperative nowadays, and more and more studies addressed this topic. The huge amount of data on this topic may create confusion in those who want to approach this surgery. The aim of this review is to provide a practical guide for treatment of meniscus tears, including an overview of technical aspects, outcomes in the literature and personal tips. Taking inspiration from a famous movie directed by Sergio Leone in 1966, the authors classified meniscus tears in three categories: The good, the bad and the ugly lesions. The inclusion in each group was determined by the lesion pattern, its biomechanical effects on knee joint, the technical challenge, and prognosis. This classification is not intended to substitute the currently proposed classifications on meniscus tears but aims at offering a readerfriendly narrative review of an otherwise difficult topic. Furthermore, the authors provide a concise premise to deal with some aspects of menisci phylogeny, anatomy and biomechanics.