Meniscal Repair Augmented With Leukocyte-Poor Platelet-Rich Plasma: A Prospective Comparative Clinical Study

This prospective, randomized, comparative, longitudinal clinical study will include 62 adult participants aged 18 to 40 years undergoing primary meniscal repair. Participants will be assigned to two parallel groups: an intervention group receiving leukocyte-poor platelet-rich plasma (LP-PRP) as biological augmentation during meniscal repair and a control group undergoing conventional meniscal repair without biological augmentation. Participants assigned to the intervention group will have approximately 60 mL of autologous venous blood collected before surgery for preparation of LP-PRP using a standardized manual double-centrifugation technique. The LP-PRP will be activated with 10% calcium chloride and applied intraoperatively directly into the meniscal lesion between the recently sutured edges. Participants in the control group will undergo conventional meniscal repair without PRP or other biological adjuvants. Surgical techniques and postoperative care will otherwise be comparable between groups. Participants will be followed for 6 months. Clinical assessments will be performed preoperatively and at 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after surgery. Pain intensity will be evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at all assessment points. Knee function will be evaluated using the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) questionnaire preoperatively and at 3 and 6 months. Return to usual activities and the occurrence of adverse events or complications will be documented during postoperative follow-up. Clinical evaluators, outcome assessors, and data analysts will remain blinded to treatment allocation to minimize measurement and interpretation bias.