Late results after arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy

In a retrospective study, 100 patients underwent a clinical and radiologica l follow-up examination after a minimum of 7 years (range 7.0-9.3 years) fo llowing 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 cm(2)) of the medial compartmen t at the time of the primary arthroscopy. According to the modified Marshal l score, the follow-up evaluation showed excellent clinical results in 96%. Nevertheless, the radiological outcome, as measured by comparing preoperat ive and postoperative Xrays, demonstrated a development or progression of t he osteoarthritis of the affected knee joint in 33%, with a statistically s ignificant correlation between the radiological and clinical outcomes (P < 0.05). The age of the patients at the time of operation and any angular def ormity of the knee joint did not influence the radiological results. Women had a statistically significantly higher risk of developing gonarthrosis af ter partial medial meniscectomy than men (P < 0.05). The arthroscopic parti al medial meniscectomy led to excellent subjective and functional results b ut could not prevent the increase or development of late degenerative chang es in the medial knee compartment.