Ding M, Liao BH, Shangguan L, Wang YC, Xu H. Arthroscopic management of a rare free-edge medial meniscal cyst: A case report. World J Orthop 2025; 16(6): 108454 [DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i6.108454]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Hu Xu, MD, Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University, Sports Medicine Institution, No. 127 Changlexi Road, Xi’an 710000, Shaanxi Province, China. xuhusportsmedicine@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Orthopedics
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Orthop. Jun 18, 2025; 16(6): 108454 Published online Jun 18, 2025. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i6.108454
Arthroscopic management of a rare free-edge medial meniscal cyst: A case report
Ming Ding, Bing-Hui Liao, Lei Shangguan, Ying-Chun Wang, Hu Xu
Ming Ding, Bing-Hui Liao, Lei Shangguan, Ying-Chun Wang, Hu Xu, Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University, Sports Medicine Institution, Xi’an 710000, Shaanxi Province, China
Author contributions: Xu H conceived and designed the study; Liao BH, Shangguan L, and Wang YC provided administrative support; Ding M authored the manuscript; Ding M and Xu H gave final approval to the manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hu Xu, MD, Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University, Sports Medicine Institution, No. 127 Changlexi Road, Xi’an 710000, Shaanxi Province, China. xuhusportsmedicine@163.com
Received: April 16, 2025 Revised: May 3, 2025 Accepted: May 21, 2025 Published online: June 18, 2025 Processing time: 64 Days and 18.2 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Meniscal cysts are a relatively uncommon form of meniscus pathology and often coexist with meniscus tears or degeneration. They are typically diagnosed as intra-meniscal cysts or para-meniscal cysts. The majority of para-meniscal cysts protrude towards the joint capsule side of the meniscus, and to date, no cases have been documented at the free edge of the meniscus. The present case of free-edge medial meniscal cysts will contribute to a deeper understanding of meniscal cysts.
CASE SUMMARY
A 30-year-old male presented with intermittent right knee pain six months ago. Diagnostic arthroscopic examination revealed a medial meniscus tear accompanied by a meniscal cyst. The patient's clinical findings, imaging results, surgical procedures, relevant images and outcomes are described. The unique aspect of this case is the occurrence of the meniscal cyst at the free-edge of the meniscus, providing valuable insights for the classification and further study of meniscal cysts.
CONCLUSION
This first case of meniscal free-edge cyst exemplifies the expansion of the spectrum of morphological types of meniscal cysts.
Core Tip: Meniscal cysts represent a relatively uncommon form of meniscal pathology and are typically classified as intra-meniscal or para-meniscal cysts. Para-meniscal cysts generally arise on the side of the meniscus adjacent to the joint capsule. However, this report presents a rare case of a medial meniscus free-edge cyst, which, to the best of current knowledge, has not been previously documented. This case contributes to a broader understanding of meniscal cysts.
