[Arthroscopic assisted diagnosis and treatment of knee extension limitation].
OBJECTIVE
To figure out the incidence and etiology of knee extension limitation and then to find out the proper methods of arthroscopic assisted diagnosis and treatment.


METHODS
We reviewed 303 cases of arthroscopic assisted operation from January to October 2003, 95 cases of which suffered from knee extension limitation before operation, including 54 male and 41female and the mean age was 36.2 years old. The direct reasons of knee extension limitation were identified by routine arthroscopic examination and operations were carried out according to results of the examination.


RESULTS
Incidence of knee extension limitation in this group of patients was 31.4%. Trauma, mainly meniscus and ligament injury accounted for 67.4%, which was the most common reason of knee extension limitation. Acute or chronic arthritis like degenerative arthritis, non-specific synovitis, synovial chondromatosis, rheumatoid arthritis, pigmented villonodular synovitis, gouty arthritis and acute pyogenic arthritis formed another common reason. The follow-up period ranged from 3 to 20 months, average 13.3 months. 82 cases gained full extension immediately after operation, 9 cases gained full extension after 3 weeks rehabilitation post-operation, 4 cases did not gain full extension 1 year after operation, recurrence was observed in 4 cases.


CONCLUSIONS
Arthroscopy is the best method for diagnosis of knee extension limitation at present. Satisfactory results can be expected after early arthroscopic assisted treatment.
Yu
Li
L
Department of Orthopaedics, First Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116021, China. dl_yuli@163.com
Wang
Li-de
LD
Lü
De-cheng
DC
Zhang
Wei-guo
WG
Qi
Zhi-ming
ZM
Zhang
Yu-fei
YF
Wang
Hong
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000844:Ankylosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D001182:Arthroscopy; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome