Local or general anaesthetic in day case arthroscopy?

A series of 66 patients who have undergone arthroscopy of the knee using three local anesthetic techniques is presented. Over a similar period of time 70 patients had knee arthroscopy performed under general anaesthesia. In the local anaesthetic group the technique was successful in 50 cases, partially successful in 12 cases and totally unsatisfactory in 4 cases. In the general anaesthetic group all the procedures were successful. Local anaesthetic techniques were found to be satisfactory for diagnostic arthroscopy but general anaesthesia was better for operative procedures and was more acceptable to the surgeon and patient.