MR imaging of bucket-handle meniscal tears

This paper describes nine arthroscopically proved cases of bucket handle meniscal tears with displaced meniscal fragments, in which MR imaging at 1.5 T correctly identified both the meniscal tear and the displaced fragment. Sagittal images allowed identification of the meniscal fragment in eight cases, although in some cases the finding of a low-signal-intensity fragment in continuity with the anterior or posterior horn of the meniscus was subtle.In the coronal plane, the displacement of the fragment into the intercondylar notch was demonstrated in all nine cases and was typically more easily identified that in the sagittal plane. Both sagittal and coronal images demonstrated tears or truncation defects of the meniscal remnant