[The "wheel track" technique in lateral meniscus surgery: a technical note]

Partial meniscectomy is the most widely used intervention in the arthroscopic treatment of meniscal disorders. Despite improved arthroscopic techniques and instrumentation, surgery of the lateral compartment is still challenging. The "wheel track" technique, first described here, will facilitate partial meniscectomy in cases where surgical intervention presents difficulties, in particular at the corpus or the anterior horn of the menisci, and the discoid meniscus. In this technique, an incomplete groove resembling a "wheel track" is created on the surface of the meniscus with the use of the tip of electrocautery. This hollow pathway on the surface of the meniscus will help prevent any unintentional divergence of the punch forceps and enable meniscectomy to be completed along the desired direction. Moreover, the technique offers considerable advantages such as ease of application through the standard portals, low cost, and avoidance of iatrogenic chondral injuries due to technical difficulties.