Cartilage mechanics and morphology, synovitis and proteoglycan fragments in rabbit joint fluid after prosthetic meniscal substitution.

The effects of meniscal substitution with a Dacron or Teflon prosthesis on rabbit knee-joint cartilage were studied by indentation tests, gross and histological inspection, analysis of proteoglycan fragments in joint fluid and an evaluation of synovial changes. Cartilage mechanics and cartilage morphology were similarly abnormal after meniscectomy and meniscal substitution. The elevated concentrations of proteoglycan fragments in joint fluid and the more severe synovial changes in joints with a meniscal substitute, as compared to meniscectomy, probably resulted from irritation of the artificial implant, but also reflected the remaining effects from the necessary bone drilling. In this short-term experiment, the use of an artificial meniscal substitute could not prevent cartilage degeneration after meniscectomy.