Flap tear

Hoffa’s fat
pad abnormalities, knee pain and magnetic resonance imaging in daily practice. Lateral meniscal flap tear. Sagittal T1w image shows a fragment of the flap tear (arrows) displaced in the fat pad (a) that is oedematous on sagittal proton density with fat saturation image (b); joint effusion (wide arrows) is present
insightsimaging.springeropen.com • Open Access
Radiopaedia • CC-by-nc-sa 3.0 • de

A flap tear is a type of meniscal tear which usually comprises of a displaced flap fragment.

  • horizontal tears can give rise to flap tears, which can be classified as superior or inferior when displaced. Superior flaps arise from the superior surface of the meniscus and inferior flaps from the inferior surface.
  • oblique tears could also give rise to flaps which are mechanical unstable and associated with mechanical symptoms
Location

Flap tears occur six to seven times more frequently in the medial meniscus .