Preliminary study of polyvinyl alcohol-hydrogel (PVA-H) artificial meniscus

Nowadays the importance of knee meniscal function is recognized. The treatment for meniscus injury has been changing from resection to repair. However, depending on the type of injury, meniscectomy cannot be avoided. In consideration of the prognosis in such patients, we developed artificial meniscus using polyvinyl alcohol-hydrogel (PVA-H) with a high water content and performed an animal experiment as preliminary study. In the experiment using rabbits, the lateral meniscus was replaced with an artificial meniscus in one knee side and lateral meniscectomy was performed in another knee side of each rabbit. In the knees treated by artificial meniscus replacement, regressive changes were initially observed but did not progress after a certain period, and the articular cartilage state was good even after 1 year. In addition, neither wear nor breakage of PVA-H was observed. These results suggest that artificial meniscus using PVA-H with a high water content compensates for meniscus function and is clinically applicable. However, for clinical application some problems such as fixation method, tolerance of PVA-H, remain to be solved.