Multiphasic view of medial meniscectomy.

In a retrospective study, the records of a group of 816 patients who had tears of the medial meniscus alone were selected for review from a total of 6,000 records of patients who had had knee surgery (1966 to 1976). According to the operative reports, these 816 patients had no other structural or pathologic findings at the time of medical meniscectomy. In an average of 2.0 years after initial surgery to the knee, 210 patients required subsequent surgical procedures for progressive meniscal pathology (38), articular cartilage damage (64), or ligamentous instability (108). The recognition of the possiblility for future surgery after medial meniscectomy is an important finding which must be acknowledged by the treating physician and to the patient. The evidence from the review suggests that others should review series of patients with tears of the medial meniscus and should attempt to gain understanding of the basic pathologic processes.