ArticleInternational orthopaedics2024
Arthroscopy with partial meniscectomy for degenerative tear does not increase the risk of total knee arthroplasty at five year follow up; however, this population undergoes total knee arthroplasty with a lower threshold of osteoarthritis.
Article in International orthopaedics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- A meta-analysis of the therapeutic effect of total knee replacement after knee arthroscopic surgery.Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology · 2025Pooled it
- Knee Arthroscopic Surgery in Middle-Aged Patients With Meniscal Symptoms: A 10-Year Follow-up of a Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial.The American journal of sports medicine · 2024Trial
- Risk of total knee replacement after a meniscal tear treated with arthroscopic partial meniscectomy compared to nonoperative treatment: A systematic review.Osteoarthritis and cartilage open · 2026Article
- [Predictors of Knee Replacement Following Meniscal Tear Arthroscopy: a 7-Year Risk Prediction Model].Acta chirurgiae orthopaedicae et traumatologiae Cechoslovaca · 2025Article
- Lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty is an effective procedure for lateral post-meniscectomy knee osteoarthritis: a case-control study at a mean 7-year follow-up.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
- Association of MRI-based knee osteoarthritis structural phenotypes with short-term structural progression and subsequent total knee replacement.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeDegenerative meniscus tears can cause discomfort in some patients, and when medical treatments fail to provide relief, arthroscopy may be considered before resorting to knee prosthesis. However, the benefits of arthroscopy over nonsurgical treatments in patients over 60 years old are limited, and the evidence regarding its overall efficiency and drawbacks remains scarce. Furthermore, there has been no investigation into whether those patients treated with partial meniscectomy, undergo the knee operation at an earlier stage of osteoarthritis.
methodsThis study focused on data from a single Belgian hospital, involving patients over 60 years old with internal meniscal tears. The participants were categorized into two groups based on the treatment they received: arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) or conservative management. The primary outcome assessed was the occurrence of knee arthroplasty within a five year period. Secondary outcomes included evaluating the ICRS cartilage grade and the time taken until total knee arthroplasty (TKA).
resultsA total of 194 patients with internal meniscal tears were included in the study. At the 5-year mark, the overall rate of knee arthroplasty was found to be 16.5%, with 11.9% of cases occurring within two years. After the 5-year follow-up, it was observed that 19.2% (24 patients) of the APM group and 11.6% (8 patients) of the conservative management group underwent knee arthroplasty. Notably, patients over 70 years old who underwent APM had a higher risk of eventually requiring TKA compared to those who received conservative management. Additionally, patients who underwent meniscectomy and later underwent TKA showed less wear in the internal compartment of the knee compared to patients in the conservative treatment group who underwent TKA.
conclusionThe study suggests that patients who underwent arthroscopy faced a similar risk of knee arthroplasty compared to those who underwent conservative management, excepted for patients over 70 years old. Despite this similar risk of arthroplasty for the whole population, they exhibited lower osteoarthritis severity when compared to the conservative group.
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