Partial arthroscopic meniscectomy: a preliminary report.

Short-term follow-up in 45 cases of meniscal derangement treated by partial arthroscopic meniscectomy was encouraging. Horizontal cleavage lesions and complex combination tears gave relatively few satisfactory results and resulted in two patients requiring reoperation. Emphasis must be placed on a careful evaluation of the meniscal remnant with a probe to ascertain the stability of the remainder of the meniscus to avoid this problem. Preexisting ligamentous instability when combined with degenerative change also caused fewer than expected satisfactory results. Careful patient selection and counseling may help to prevent this problem in the future. Age did not seem to affect the short term results. It should be emphasized that arthroscopic surgery requires a surgeon with extensive experience and adequate equipment in order to provide a comprehensive evaluation and treatment of the pathologic condition.