title: Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy: a 12-year follow-up and two-step evaluation of the long-term course.
abstract: The long-term results after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy of 119 patients with a mean follow-up of 12 years are presented in this study. The same series of patients had an earlier follow-up 4 years postoperatively. Thus, an evaluation of the actual long-term course and not only a single result after partial meniscectomy is presented. Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy is shown to be the definitive means of therapy for meniscal lesion of the knee joint; 91.7% of patients had an excellent or good result 4 years after surgery, and 78.1% rated excellent or good 12 years after surgery. Full recovery regarding ability to work and sports activity level was achieved in a very high percentage of patients. Early results were mostly representative and did not change significantly during the long-term course for the isolated meniscal lesion. The factor with the highest impact on long-term results was damage to the articular cartilage, which did not influence knee function for several years after surgery but became increasingly symptomatic over time after 5 years and more. Only 62% of patients with additional cartilage damage rated excellent and good 12 years after surgery, in contrast with 94.8% good and excellent results in patients with isolated meniscal tears. Similar observations were made for the untreated rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Schimmer
authors.forename: K B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Brülhart
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duff
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Glinz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001182:Arthroscopy; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000070600:Tibial Meniscus Injuries; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome