To evaluate the appearance and course of bone marrow edema-like signals (BMELS) over multiple postoperative follow-ups up to 60 months in patients after cartilage repair of the knee and correlate these findings with clinical and morphological scores, emphasizing the significance of these correlations.
Key Findings:
BMELS were categorized into three groups: no edema, typical edema (diminishing), and atypical edema (variable progression).
BMELS showed a tendency to decrease in size over 60 months, particularly in the typical edema group, which may indicate a positive healing trajectory.
No significant correlation was found between the presence or size of BMELS and clinical outcomes at the five-year follow-up, suggesting that BMELS may not be a negative prognostic factor.
Interpretation:
The presence of BMELS after cartilage repair does not adversely affect long-term clinical outcomes, suggesting that BMELS may be a normal part of the healing process and should not deter clinicians from considering cartilage repair procedures.
Limitations:
Retrospective design may introduce bias, particularly in patient selection.
Small sample size limits generalizability of findings.
Lack of long-term follow-up beyond 60 months.
Conclusion:
BMELS after cartilage repair procedures do not impact clinical outcomes over a five-year follow-up, indicating their potential role as a benign aspect of the healing process, which aligns with some existing literature.
by Felix R. M. Koenig, Marcus Raudner, Vladimir Juras, Pavol Szomolanyi, Veronika Vetchy, Jakob Kittinger, Ehsan Safai Zadeh, Martin L. Watzenböck, Siegfried Trattnig
