Meniscal injuries are the most common injury treated surgically in the knee. Each year over 1,000,000 meniscal procedures are completed in the United States alone.1
Sports like football, skiing, or rugby are common sources of meniscal injuries. But when looking at meniscal tears specifically, they typically present in middle-aged and elderly patients and are caused by long term degeneration.2
Treatment for meniscal tears varies by size and location of the tear and patient lifestyle. But addressing an injured meniscus is crucial to preventing the onset of osteoarthritis. A recent publication stated that while “reoperation rates are higher after meniscal repair compared with arthroscopic partial meniscectomy, long-term follow-up studies have demonstrated better clinical outcomes and less severe degenerative changes for meniscal repair than for partial meniscectomy.”3
As with many other surgeries, movement towards a minimally invasive approach has accelerated. Techniques that enable a sufficient repair while preserving the meniscus and surrounding anatomy like neurovascular structures are preferred.
“As the loss of the meniscus can be regarded as a pre-arthritic condition, a knee surgeon must save the meniscus as much as he or she can” state the authors of a 2022 study in Archives of Bone and Joint Surgery.4
With the principle being to save the meniscus, surgeons need an all-inside meniscal device that minimizes anatomic impact but still supports their procedures.5
A meniscal device that provides a reduced piercing diameter by up to 36% moves the discussion of minimizing anatomic impact into action.6
CONMED’s AIM™ Meniscal Repair Device includes a hidden implant design that minimizes the piercing diameter to preserve the meniscus and protect the implants from being prematurely deployed. It’s retractable sheath fully covers the needle and allows the surgeon to enter the joint without the risk of damaging native anatomy.
“It’s truly an implant that I’ve been able to reliably work with one hand.” Says Dr. Kris Abeln, an Orthopedic Surgeon specializing in Sports Medicine. “I can get into position better because it’s low profile, and I can deploy with one hand.”
The most important advantage of the all-inside technique is a respect for anatomy and biology.5 CONMED’s AIM™ Meniscal Repair Device will maximize your repair with minimal anatomic disruption.
“The new AIM™ was incredibly straight forward to use and the needle made easily the smallest hole in the meniscus I’ve seen. Excited to use it more.” Says Dr. Michael Pickell, an Orthopedic Surgeon and Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa specializing in complex knee reconstruction.
Click here to learn more about CONMED’s AIM™ Meniscal Repair Device.
1University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering meniscus tear and transplantation. Swanson School of Engineering. (n.d.). https://www.engineering.pitt.edu/subsites/Labs/orthopedic-robotics/projects/meniscus-tear-and-transplantation/#:~:text=Meniscal%20injuries%20are%20the%20most,meniscal%20procedures%20being%20performed%20annually
2Meniscal repair. Physiopedia. (n.d.). https://www.physio-pedia.com/Meniscal_Repair#:~:text=therefore%20cannot%20heal.-,Epidemiology,procedures%20performed%20by%20orthopaedic%20surgeons
3Nobutake Ozeki, Tomomasa Nakamura, Yusuke Nakagawa, Ichiro Sekiya, Hideyuki Koga, Meniscus repair and centralization: Preserving meniscus function, Journal of Joint Surgery and Research, Volume 1, Issue 1, 2023, Pages 46-55, ISSN 2949-7051, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jjoisr.2023.01.001.
4Razi, Mohammad, and S M Javad Mortazavi. “Save the Meniscus, A good Strategy to Preserve the Knee.” The archives of bone and joint surgery vol. 8,1 (2020): 1-4. doi:10.22038/abjs.2019.45438.2242
5Konrad Malinowski, Adrian Góralczyk, Krzysztof Hermanowicz, Robert F. LaPrade, Tips and Pearls for All-Inside Medial Meniscus Repair, Arthroscopy Techniques, Volume 8, Issue 2, 2019, Pages e131-e139, ISSN 2212-6287, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eats.2018.10.009.
6Piercing diameter defined as the highest diameter that would pierce the meniscus with an exposed implant and needle combined. PDD1924378.