To determine the clinical effect after side-to-side repair for radial posterior lateral meniscus root tears (PLMRTs) under arthroscope.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 27 patients who suffered from posterior root radiating tears of the lateral meniscus due to trauma and underwent arthroscopic lateral-lateral suturing at the Sports Medicine Center of Second Affiliated Hospital Inner Mongolia Medical University from January 2019 to January 2021.The preoperative and last follow-up International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective scores, Lysholm and Tegner scores, and complications were recorded. Paired sample t-tests were used to analyze the differences in scores before and after surgery.

All 27 patients met the inclusion criteria and were followed up for an average of (16±4) months. There were 19 males and 8 females, with an average age of (26±8) years, and the average time from injury to surgery was (15±11) days. During the follow-up period, no patient experienced re-tear of the meniscus, joint space tenderness, or positive McMurray test. The IKDC score (93.1±2.3), Lysholm score (96.2±3.0), and Tegner score (5.9±0.6) at the last follow-up were significantly higher than those before surgery (43.4±6.3), (55.3±4.6), and (2.5±0.7), with statistically significant differences (t=40.83, 45.96, and 26.30, respectively; P=0.01).

Arthroscopic lateral-lateral repair for PLMRTs can significantly improve the subjective and objective functions of patients, and the clinical efficacy is remarkable. The passive voice in the past tense is used for expression.