Outcomes of Meniscal Repairs in Patients Aged 40 Years or Older: A Retrospective Case Series Comparing Failure and Successful Repair

Ifarraguerri, Anna M.; Bloomer, Ainsley K.; Bonvillain, Kirby W.; Gachigi, Kennedy K.; Berk, Alexander N.; Meade, Joshua D.; Feik, Madilyn L.; Collins, Michael S.; Moorman, Claude T.; Piasecki, Dana P.; Fleischli, James E.; Siparsky, Patrick N.; Saltzman, Bryan M

doi:10.22038/abjs.2026.93091.4215

Outcomes of Meniscal Repairs in Patients Aged 40 Years or Older: A Retrospective Case Series Comparing Failure and Successful Repair

Articles in Press

Document Type : RESEARCH PAPER

Authors

Anna M. Ifarraguerri ¹

Ainsley K. Bloomer ²

Kirby W. Bonvillain ²

Kennedy K. Gachigi ¹

Alexander N. Berk ¹

Joshua D. Meade ¹

Madilyn L. Feik ³

Michael S. Collins ³

Claude T. Moorman ²

Dana P. Piasecki ¹

James E. Fleischli ¹

Patrick N. Siparsky ³

Bryan M Saltzman ³

¹ OrthoCarolina, Charlotte, NC, US

² Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, Charlotte, NC, US

³ Indiana University Health Physicians, Indianapolis, IN, US

10.22038/abjs.2026.93091.4215

Abstract

Objectives: Meniscal repair has become common as meniscectomies have fallen out of favor, yet the growing body of literature has not fully assessed outcomes in older patients. The purpose of this study is to report the outcomes of patients aged 40 years or older after meniscus repair.

Methods: An administrative database at a single academic institution was queried using Current Procedural Terminology codes to identify patients undergoing meniscal repair between 2010 and 2018. Patients aged 40 years or older with minimum two-year follow-up after primary meniscal repair were included. Complications, repair failure, and patient-reported outcomes were collected.

Results: Of the 179 included patients, 68 (38%) experienced meniscal repair failure, 41 (22.9%) underwent reoperation, and 9 (5%) were converted to total knee arthroplasty. The KOOS Quality of Life subscale was lower in the repair failure cohort (odds ratio (OR) -14.33; 95% confidence interval (CI) -28.06 to -0.61; P=0.041). Patients with meniscal repair failure had higher complication rates (48 (70%)) than patients without meniscal failure (28 (18%)) (OR 7.11; 95% CI 3.62 to 13.97; P<0.001). On multivariate analysis, postoperative complications were significantly associated with meniscal repair failure (OR 6.22; 95% CI 3.1 to 12.47; P<0.001) and a cumulative effect analysis revealed a stepwise relationship between the risk of repair failure and the number of complications.

Conclusion: Patients aged 40 years or older experienced a 38% meniscal repair failure rate, with a significant association between postoperative complications and repair failure. Surgeons can anticipate at least one-third of patients in this demographic experiencing repair failure and consider the number of complications in association with repair failure risk.

Keywords: meniscus tear, meniscus repair failure, age.

Level of Evidence: Level IV.

Keywords

meniscus tear

meniscus repair failure

age

Subjects