Anatomy and pathophysiology of the popliteal tendon area in the lateral meniscus: 2. Clinical investigation.

Treatment of abnormal mobility of the popliteal tendon area of the lateral meniscus is described. Twenty-seven patients who exhibited an abnormally mobile posterior segment with no obvious ruptures in the lateral meniscus were directly examined by us after an average of 4 years and 3 months from the time of the arthroscopic procedure. The main complaints associated with this condition before the surgery were pain and locking during deep knee flexions. The patients were divided into three groups according to surgical method: partial meniscectomy, subtotal meniscectomy, or meniscal repair. The subtotal meniscectomy and repair groups showed significantly higher scores than the partial meniscectomy group. A locking phenomenon recurred in one case of the meniscal repair group. In this case, the menisco-femoral coronary ligament posterior to the popliteal tunnel could not be sutured.