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Discoid Lateral Meniscus of the Knee in Children (Updated November 2005)


Introduction


A discoid lateral meniscus of the knee is an anatomic variant in which the meniscus is disk shaped with increased thickness, and has greater coverage of the tibial plateau. The incidence of discoid lateral meniscus is variable between races: 5% for Caucasians, 12.5 % for Koreans, and 16.6 % for Japanese (Rao 2001).

Watanabe (Watanabe 1979) classified discoid lateral meniscus into three types: type I the meniscus is disc in shape, stable, covers completely the tibial plateau; type II is disc in shape, stable but incompletely covers the tibial plateau, and type III is normal in shape but unstable due to absence of the meniscotibial ligament of Wrisberg. Many children are asymptomatic, others present with chronic knee pain, clicking and, block of extension. The diagnosis and treatment of a symptomatic patient is critical to alleviate symptoms and possibly prevent arthritic changes in adulthood.