Purpose: The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate preoperative three-dimensional ultrasound scans for the detection of meniscal lesions with a special focus on interobserver reliability.
Methods: Forty one patients with clinical signs of meniscal lesions were preoperatively examined by ultrasound using the 3-D technique (11.7 MHz linear transducer). The 3-D dataset was stored and examined by a second orthopaedic surgeon. The second ultrasound examiner was blinded to the results of the first. Any meniscal pathology was confirmed arthroscopically and documented.
Results: At arthroscopy eight lateral meniscal lesions and 57 medial meniscal lesions were detected at different locations. The sensitivity and specificity of the original ultrasound examination was acceptable whereas the results of the second ultrasound session were not as sensitive.
Conclusion: Three-D-ultrasound with a high resolution transducer, in the hands of an experienced operator, provides acceptable results in the detection of meniscal lesions, however, analysis of the volume dataset from the 3-D ultrasound investigation indicates that it does not offer sufficient accuracy for clinical use.