Congenital discoid meniscus in children

Almost everyone knows that the meniscus is a very important part of the knee joint. Problems with the meniscus directly affect our normal walking, but some children's meniscus is disc-shaped, which is very different from the normal meniscus. When this happens, parents are always very anxious, and the solution becomes very serious at this time. So what should we do about children with congenital discoid meniscus?

1. What is congenital discoid meniscus

Congenital discoid meniscus is a congenital malformation in which the normal meniscus of the knee joint is replaced by a discoid meniscus of fibrocartilaginous tissue. It manifests as disc-shaped hypertrophy of the meniscus of the knee joint. It is a common congenital malformation of the knee joint in children. It is more common to occur on one side, especially on the outside. There is no gender difference in the disease and it is not hereditary.

2. Causes

The pathogenesis is still unclear. It may be that during the fetal development period, the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus had no attachment point, and the medial femoral condyle and the posterior part of the lateral meniscus were connected by the lamina femoralis ligament. As a result, when the body straightened the knee joint, the meniscus shifted posteriorly and medially due to the traction of the ligament and reached between the femoral condyles, and returned to the lateral side when straightened. Such repeated friction and pressure caused the meniscus to proliferate and thicken, forming a disc-shaped meniscus of fibrocartilage.

3. Clinical manifestations

In infancy, there are generally no obvious clinical symptoms. As children grow older and become more active, they may experience clicking in the affected knee or pain, joint swelling, and lameness during strenuous exercise. The joints are less stable and, in severe cases, their movement is limited. In addition, when the discoid meniscus is torn in the knee joint due to trauma, obvious swelling and congestion in the joint cavity may occur. In rare cases, when the knee joint is hyperextended, obvious pain on the lateral side of the joint, joint locking and joint effusion often indicate a meniscus tear.

IV. Treatment

1. General treatment

For asymptomatic discoid meniscus, there is no need to restrict activities. Only regular check-ups and health education are required to protect the knee joint and avoid traumatic discoid meniscus tears.

2. Surgery

For meniscus tears with obvious symptoms, recurrent attacks or traumatic causes, with swelling and exudation of the knee joint and limited joint function, surgical treatment is often used, and the treatment effect is generally good. Surgery to remove all or part of the meniscus to prevent it from damaging the joint cartilage. Currently, arthroscopic meniscectomy is often performed, which can be partial, subtotal or total, and can also remove the torn part. Note that joint function exercises should be started 2 to 3 weeks after surgery.