Meniscal extrusion: Proposal for a novel qualitative classification

Meniscal extrusion (ME), defined as the radial displacement of the meniscal body outside the margins of the tibial plateau, has been seen as an independent and relevant predictor of intra-articular knee degeneration. Nonetheless, available classifications for ME are exclusively quantitative assessments not considering the context in which extrusion is identified. Indeed, ME can be the result of several different conditions spanning from acute tears to chronic degeneration and its definition cannot be only dependent on the numeric calculation of the radial displacement of the meniscal body. Furthermore, growing evidence supports the existence of a paraphysiological ME resulting from joint loading, limb malalignment, anatomical abnormalities of the meniscal attachments to the femur and tibia or a nonpathological finding after meniscal allograft transplantation. It is therefore clear that an exclusively quantitative assessment of ME cannot be sufficient since this condition can develop in such different clinical scenarios. For this reason, a novel qualitative classification for ME is proposed, differentiating between three distinct conditions: a paraphysiological ME, a pathological ME and ME related to degenerative conditions. Furthermore, a comprehensive review of the present literature has been conducted to report the most relevant and updated evidence on the topic highlighting the difference in the clinical management of each different category.

Level of evidence: Not applicable.