Meniscal allograft

Meniscal allograft using bone plugs to secure the graft.

 

Meniscal allograft using a tongue-and-groove method of securing the graft with a bone bar.

Where does a meniscal allograft come from?

Usually the meniscus is taken ('harvested') from a cadaver donor, processed in a tissue bank to make it safe and inserted into living recipient, where it replaces their own meniscus. Nowadays it is often harvested still attached to a piece of donor bone.

The new meniscus is then slid into a recess made into the recipient's bone so that only the outer edges need to be sewn into place.

• Quote from peer-reviewed paper:

  "...the general expert opinion is still that it is a procedure that should be reserved for symptomatic meniscal loss. There are three main fixation methods that can be used to fix a MAT: suture-only fixation, double plug fixation and the keyhole technique. All fixation methods have similar outcomes..."

  Citation: Figueroa F, Figueroa D, Calvo R, Vaisman A, Espregueira-Mendes J. Meniscus allograft transplantation: indications, techniques and outcomes. EFORT Open Rev. 2019 Apr 25;4(4):115-120. doi: 10.1302/2058-5241.4.180052. PMID: 31057948; PMCID: PMC6491952.

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Forum discussions

• "MENISCUS TRANSPLANT - SOCCER/FOOTBALL"

  Patients discussing the possibility of returning to sport after a meniscal allograft.

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