ArticleArthroscopy : the journal of arthroscopic & related surgery : official publication of the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the International Arthroscopy Association2014
New England journal of medicine article evaluating the usefulness of meniscectomy is flawed.
Article in Arthroscopy : the journal of arthroscopic & related surgery : official publication of the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the International Arthroscopy Association, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.
- Arthroscopic surgery for degenerative knee: systematic review and meta-analysis of benefits and harms.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2015Pooled it
- Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for a degenerative meniscus tear: a 5 year follow-up of the placebo-surgery controlled FIDELITY (Finnish Degenerative Meniscus Lesion Study) trial.British journal of sports medicine · 2020Trial
- Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy versus placebo surgery for a degenerative meniscus tear: a 2-year follow-up of the randomised controlled trial.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2018Trial
- Cost-effectiveness analysis of arthroscopic surgery compared with non-operative management for osteoarthritis of the knee.BMJ open · 2016Trial
- Resolution of Pain at Night and Improved Functional Outcomes After Arthroscopic Partial Meniscectomy.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2025Article
- Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for the degenerative meniscus tear: a comparison of patients included in RCTs and prospective cohort studies.Acta orthopaedica · 2023Article
- [Research progress of knee meniscal repair techniques].Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery · 2023Review
- Biomechanical assessment of disease outcome in surgical interventions for medial meniscal posterior root tears: a finite element analysis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2022Article
- Degenerative medial meniscus posterior root tear and non-root tear do not show differences in joint survival and clinical outcome after partial meniscectomy.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2020Article
- Does Knee Arthroscopy for Treatment of Meniscal Damage with Osteoarthritis Delay Knee Replacement Compared to Physical Therapy Alone?Clinics in orthopedic surgery · 2020Article
- Article
- Arthroscopic debridement of the degenerative knee - Is there still a role?Asia-Pacific journal of sports medicine, arthroscopy, rehabilitation and technology · 2019Article
- Comparison of 3 Knee-Specific Quality-of-Life Instruments for Patients With Meniscal Tears.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2018Article
- Letter to Editor: Editorial: Appropriate Use? Guidelines on Arthroscopic Surgery for Degenerative Meniscus Tears Need Updating.Clinical orthopaedics and related research · 2017Article
- Surgical Management of Degenerative Meniscus Lesions: The 2016 ESSKA Meniscus Consensus.Joints · 2017Article
- The knee meniscus: management of traumatic tears and degenerative lesions.EFORT open reviews · 2017Article
- The difficult balance between scientific evidence and clinical practice: the 2016 ESSKA meniscus consensus on the surgical management of degenerative meniscus lesions.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2017Article
- Surgical management of degenerative meniscus lesions: the 2016 ESSKA meniscus consensus.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2017Article
- Arthroscopic surgery for degenerative knee: systematic review and meta-analysis of benefits and harms.British journal of sports medicine · 2015Article
- Utility of Arthroscopic Surgery for Osteoarthritis of the Knee.Geriatric orthopaedic surgery & rehabilitation · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A controversial article was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine titled "Arthroscopic Partial Meniscectomy Versus Sham Surgery for a Degenerative Meniscal Tear" by Sihvonen et al. We believe that readers of this article should be careful about making sweeping generalizations regarding the study findings given several methodologic flaws inherent in the population studied. There are significant concerns regarding the generalizability of these data. The actual study sample group is exceedingly small as compared with the normal volume of meniscal surgery the authors are reported to routinely perform. The authors' definition of a sham procedure must be revisited. The authors' final conclusion that "arthroscopic partial meniscectomy is of no value" is simply not what the study found. We share the concerns that several other leading authorities have recently expressed about the societal implications of this work. Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy has revolutionized the way we are able to treat symptomatic meniscal pathology. However, this procedure, like all surgical procedures, must be properly indicated to truly benefit our patients.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.