What is a horizontal meniscus tear?

What is a horizontal meniscus tear?

A horizontal meniscal tear, also known as a cleavage tear, is a type of meniscal tear in which the tear is oriented horizontally, parallel to the tibial plateau. These tears may be difficult to visualize on arthroscopy.

Can horizontal meniscus tears be repaired?

Purpose: Despite the well-documented advantages of meniscal repair over meniscectomy, horizontal cleavage tears (HCTs) are often not repaired. Reported reasons include difficulty performing the repair, potential suture failure due to mechanical stresses, and poor healing rates.

What hurts when you tear your meniscus?

A torn meniscus can lead to a feeling of your knee giving way, inability to move your knee normally or persistent knee pain. You might be more likely to develop osteoarthritis in the injured knee.

Is horizontal meniscus tear bad?

Leaving a horizontal meniscus tear within your knee increases your risk of arthritis and the eventual need for knee replacement surgery.

What causes a horizontal tear of the meniscus?

Causes of a meniscus tear The meniscus can be torn during activities that cause direct contact or pressure from a forced twist or rotation. A sudden pivot or turn, deep squatting, or heavy lifting can lead to injury. Many athletes are at risk for a meniscus tear.

What is meniscal maceration?

Meniscal maceration is a finding sometimes used on MRI imaging to describe wasting away of the meniscus or cause to become soft or separated into constituent elements. It is often used with chronic degenerative conditions although some authors also propose this term in the setting of a tear (macerated tear) 2.

What can mimic a medial meniscus tear?

Normal anatomic structures that can mimic a tear include the meniscal ligament, meniscofemoral ligaments, popliteomeniscal fascicles, and menisco- meniscal ligament. Anatomic variants and pitfalls that can mimic a tear include discoid meniscus, meniscal flounce, a meniscal ossicle, and chondrocalcinosis.