title: Late results after arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy.
abstract: In a retrospective study, 100 patients underwent a clinical and radiological follow-up examination after a minimum of 7 years (range 7.0-9.3 years) following an arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy. None of these patients had associated intra-articular lesions, apart from minor chondral damage (max. grade 2 Outerbridge classification; < 1 cm2) of the medial compartment at the time of the primary arthroscopy. According to the modified Marshall score, the follow-up evaluation showed excellent clinical results in 96%. Nevertheless, the radiological outcome, as measured by comparing preoperative and postoperative X-rays, demonstrated a development or progression of the osteoarthritis of the affected knee joint in 33%, with a statistically significant correlation between the radiological and clinical outcomes (P < 0.05). The age of the patients at the time of operation and any angular deformity of the knee joint did not influence the radiological results. Women had a statistically significantly higher risk of developing gonarthrosis after partial medial meniscectomy than men (P < 0.05). The arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy led to excellent subjective and functional results but could not prevent the increase or development of late degenerative changes in the medial knee compartment.
authors.affiliation: Staatliche Orthopädische Klinik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krüger-Franke
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Siebert
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kugler
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Trouillier
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rosemeyer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001182:Arthroscopy; D002648:Child; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000209:etiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011859:Radiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome