Meniscal Cyst Formation After All-Inside Meniscal Repair

The progression in the treatment of meniscal injury represents yet another example in the orthopaedic technological revolution. Damaged menisci that were once treated with total excision are now repaired arthroscopically. Arthroscopic repair has evolved in recent years from inside-out and outside-in techniques to the all-inside meniscal repair. When introduced, the all-inside repair was technically difficult and primarily recommended for posterior tears. 5,6 The advent of certain meniscal-repair systems has made the all-inside method more technically feasible and has broadened its application. A major advantage of these systems is the potential avoidance of complications associated with outside-in or inside-out methods. 2, 7 While saphenous neuropathy is cited as the most common complication, numerous other complications have been reported.6,9 Only one documented case of postrepair meniscal cyst exists. 6 The complications cited have been associated with outside-in or inside-out methods of meniscal repair, not the all-inside method. In this report, we present a case that documents a meniscal cyst forming after an all-inside repair using the Acufex T-Fix meniscal repair system (Smith & Nephew Endoscopy Division, Andover, Massachusetts).