Preliminary results with abrasion arthroplasty in the osteoarthritic knee.

A retrospective survey of 110 patients treated by arthroscopic debridement of the knee joint was conducted; 73 of 100 operations included abrasion arthroplasty. The average follow-up period was one year. All patients had Grade IV articular changes. Overall, 60% of the patients who underwent abrasion arthroplasty showed improvement, while the knee was unchanged in 34% and worse in 6%. The results were best in patients younger than 40 years of age. Forty-one patients had medial compartment abrasion in concert with pathologic medial meniscal conditions; 53% of these patients were improved. In a comparable group of 37 patients treated by medial compartment debridement and medial meniscectomy without abrasion only 32% showed improvement. Thus, tentative results in this small series of patients treated by abrasion arthroplasty are encouraging. Further investigations in a larger series are warranted to determine the long-term results of the procedure.