Arthroscopic washout of the knee: a procedure in decline.

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is a chronic, progressive condition which often requires surgical intervention. The evidence for the benefits of arthroscopic debridement or washout for knee OA is weak and arthroscopy is currently only indicated in the UK if there is a history of mechanical locking of the knee. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether there has been any change in the number of arthroscopies performed in the UK since the 2007 NICE guidance on knee arthroscopy and the 2008 Cochrane review of arthroscopic debridement for OA of the knee. METHODS: We interrogated data from the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) database with Office of Population Censuses and Surveys-4 (OPSC-4) codes pertaining to therapeutic endoscopic operations in the 60-74 year old and 75 and over age groups. RESULTS: The number of arthroscopic knee interventions in the UK decreased overall from 2000 to 2012, with arthroscopic irrigations decreasing the most by 39.6 per 100,000 population (80%). However, the number of arthroscopic meniscal resections increased by 105.3 per 100,000 (230%) population. These trends were mirrored in both the 60-74 and 75 and over age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Knee arthroscopy in the 60-74 and 75 and over age groups appears to be decreasing but there is still a large and increasing number of arthroscopic meniscal resections being performed

Arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy

Background/Aim. Meniscal injuries are common in professional or recreational sports as well as in daily activities. If meniscal lesions lead to physical impairment they usually require surgical treatment. Arthroscopic treatment of meniscal injuries is one of the most often performed orthopedic operative procedures. Methods. The study analyzed the results of arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy in 213 patients in a 24-month period, from 2006, to 2008. Results. In our series of arthroscopically treated medial meniscus tears we noted 78 (36.62%) vertical complete bucket handle lesions, 19 (8.92%) vertical incomplete lesions, 18 (8.45%) longitudinal tears, 35 (16.43%) oblique tears, 18 (8.45%) complex degenerative lesions, 17 (7.98%) radial lesions and 28 (13.14%) horisontal lesions. Mean preoperative International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score was 49.81%, 1 month after the arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy the mean IKDC score was 84.08%, and 6 months after mean IKDC score was 90.36%. Six months after the procedure 197 (92.49%) of patients had good or excellent subjective postoperative clinical outcomes, while 14 (6.57%) patients subjectively did not notice a significant improvement after the intervention, and 2 (0.93%) patients had no subjective improvement after the partial medial meniscectomy at all. Conclusion. Arthroscopic partial medial meniscetomy is minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedure and in well selected cases is a method of choice for treatment of medial meniscus injuries when repair techniques are not a viable option. It has small rate of complications, low morbidity and fast rehabilitation

Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy versus placebo surgery for a degenerative meniscus tear : a 2-year follow-up of the randomised controlled trial

Objective To assess if arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) is superior to placebo surgery in the treatment of patients with degenerative tear of the medial meniscus. Methods In this multicentre, randomised, participant-blinded and outcome assessor-blinded, placebo-surgery controlled trial, 146 adults, aged 35-65 years, with knee symptoms consistent with degenerative medial meniscus tear and no knee osteoarthritis were randomised to APM or placebo surgery. The primary outcome was the between-group difference in the change from baseline in the Western Ontario Meniscal Evaluation Tool (WOMET) and Lysholm knee scores and knee pain after exercise at 24 months after surgery. Secondary outcomes included the frequency of unblinding of the treatment-group allocation, participants' satisfaction, impression of change, return to normal activities, the incidence of serious adverse events and the presence of meniscal symptoms in clinical examination. Two subgroup analyses, assessing the outcome on those with mechanical symptoms and those with unstable meniscus tears, were also carried out. Results In the intention-to-treat analysis, there were no significant between-group differences in the mean changes from baseline to 24 months in WOMET score: 27.3 in the APM group as compared with 31.6 in the placebo-surgery group (between-group difference, -4.3; 95% CI, -11.3 to 2.6); Lysholm knee score: 23.1 and 26.3, respectively (-3.2; -8.9 to 2.4) or knee pain after exercise, 3.5 and 3.9, respectively (-0.4; -1.3 to 0.5). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in any of the secondary outcomes or within the analysed subgroups. Conclusions In this 2-year follow-up of patients without knee osteoarthritis but with symptoms of a degenerative medial meniscus tear, the outcomes after APM were no better than those after placebo surgery. No evidence could be found to support the prevailing ideas that patients with presence of mechanical symptoms or certain meniscus tear characteristics or those who have failed initial conservative treatment are more likely to benefit from APM.Peer reviewe

Epidemiological evaluation of meniscal ramp lesions in 3214 anterior cruciate ligament–injured knees from the SANTI study group database: a risk factor analysis and study of secondary meniscectomy rates following 769 ramp repairs

Background: Ramp lesions are characterized by disruption of the peripheral meniscocapsular attachments of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus. Ramp repair performed at the time of ACL reconstruction has been shown to improve knee biomechanics. Hypothesis/Purpose: Primary objectives of this study were to evaluate the incidence and risk factors for ramp lesions in a large series of patients undergoing ACL reconstruction, Secondary objectives were to determine the re-operation rate for failure of ramp repair, defined by subsequent re-operations for partial medial meniscectomy Study Design: Case series Methods: All patients underwent trans-notch posteromedial compartment evaluation of the knee during ACL reconstruction. Ramp repair was performed if a lesion was detected. Potentially important risk factors were analyzed for their association with ramp lesions. A secondary analysis of all patients who underwent ramp repair and had a minimum follow-up of two years was undertaken in order to determine the secondary partial meniscectomy rate for failed ramp repair. Results: The overall incidence of ramp lesions in the study population was 23.9% (769 ramp lesions in 3214 patients). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the presence of ramp lesions was significantly associated with the following risk factors: male gender, patients aged under 30 years, revision ACLR, chronic injuries, pre-operative side-to-side laxity >6 mm and the presence of concomitant lateral meniscus tears. The secondary meniscectomy rate was 10.8% at a mean follow up of 45.6 months (24.2-66.2). Patients who underwent ACLR + ALLR had a greater than 2-fold reduction in the risk of reoperation for failure of ramp repair as compared with patients who underwent isolated ACLR (hazard ratio, 0.457; 95%CI, 0.226-0.864; P = .021). Conclusion: There is a high incidence of ramp lesions in patients undergoing ACLR. The identification of important risk factors for ramp lesions in this study in an individual patient should help raise an appropriate index of suspicion and prompt posteromedial compartment evaluation. The overall secondary partial meniscectomy rate after ramp repair is 10.8%. Anterolateral ligament reconstruction appears to confer a protective effect on the ramp repair performed at the time of ACLR and results in a significant reduction in secondary meniscectomy rates

Changes in knee joint load indices from before to 12 months after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy:a prospective cohort study

Patients undergoing arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) are at increased risk of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Meniscal damage and/or surgery may alter knee joint loading to increase OA risk. We investigated changes in knee joint loading following medial APM surgery, compared with the contra-lateral leg

When can exercise supplant surgery for degenerative meniscal tears?

When can exercise supplant surgery for degenerative meniscal tears? PRACTICE CHANGER: Recommend supervised exercise therapy to your patients with a medial, degenerative meniscal tear and a minimal history of osteoarthritis because it is as effective as partial meniscectomy, entails little risk, and has the added benefit of increasing muscle strength. Stength of recommendation: B: Based on a single, good quality, randomized controlled trial

Meniscal Allograft Transplantation Does Not Prevent or Delay Progression of Knee Osteoarthritis

Background Meniscal tears are common knee injuries. Meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT) has been advocated to alleviate symptoms and delay osteoarthritis (OA) after meniscectomy. We investigated (1) the long-term outcome of MAT as a treatment of symptomatic meniscectomy, (2) most important factors affecting survivorship and (3) OA progression. Methods From 1989 till 2013, 329 MAT were performed in 313 patients. Clinical and radiographic results and MAT survival were evaluated retrospectively. Failure was defined as conversion to knee arthroplasty (KA) or total removal of the MAT. Results Mean age at surgery was 33 years (15–57); 60% were males. No-to-mild cartilage damage was found in 156 cases, moderate-to-severe damage in 130. Simultaneous procedures in 118 patients included cartilage procedures, osteotomy or ACL-reconstruction. At a mean follow-up of 6.8 years (0.2–24.3years), 5 patients were deceased and 48 lost (14.6%), 186 MAT were in situ (56.5%) whilst 90 (27.4%) had been removed, including 63 converted to a KA (19.2%). Cumulative allograft survivorship was 15.1% (95% CI:13.9–16.3) at 24.0 years. In patients <35 years at surgery, survival was significantly better (24.1%) compared to ≥35 years (8.0%) (p = 0.017). In knees with no-to-mild cartilage damage more allografts survived (43.0%) compared to moderate-to-severe damage (6.6%) (p = 0.003). Simultaneous osteotomy significantly deteriorated survival (0% at 24.0 years) (p = 0.010). 61% of patients underwent at least one additional surgery (1–11) for clinical symptoms after MAT. Consecutive radiographs showed significant OA progression at a mean of 3.8 years (p<0.0001). Incremental Kellgren-Lawrence grade was +1,1 grade per 1000 days (2,7yrs). Conclusions MAT did not delay or prevent tibiofemoral OA progression. 19.2% were converted to a knee prosthesis at a mean of 10.3 years. Patients younger than 35 with no-to-mild cartilage damage may benefit from MAT for relief of symptoms (survivorship 51.9% at 20.2 years), but patients and healthcare payers and providers should be aware of the high number of surgical re-interventions