Arthroscopy in the treatment of injuries and knee disorders in children and adolescents.
Background. In children and young adolescents, like in adults the knee joint is the most exposed joint to the injuries and pathologies of various ethiology. Injuries of the knee joint in children and young adolescents have their own specificity and they are characterized by some differences. Therefore the diagnostics and management are difficult even for the experienced surgeons. Material and methods. The study is a retrospective analysis of 1552 arthroscopies of the knee joint in children and young adolescents performed in the years 1986-2001. These arthroscopies accounted for 14,4% of all 10770 arthroscopies. Conclusions. Arthroscopy is a decisive diagnostic examination in many cases of diseases of unknown ethiology. Particularly in acute injuries it allows for choosing a further method of treatment. In these conditions also operative arthroscopy is performed. The arthroscopy in children is restricted not by the size of the joint which is very elastic but by the surgeons experience.
Oddział II i Ośrodek Chirurgii Kolana i Artroskopii, Wojewódzki Szpital Chirurgii Urazowej, Piekary Slaskie.
Jerzy
J
Widuchowski
Piotr
P
Lukasik
Jacek
J
Semenowicz