Endoscopic partial and total meniscectomy. A comparative study with a short term follow up.

The results of partial endoscopic meniscectomy in 89 patients were compared with the results of total endoscopic meniscectomy in 78 patients. Total meniscectomy was the more time consuming and there were intraoperative technical problems in 16 patients, the most common being rupture of the meniscus during extraction. All complications were, however, successfully handled and did not affect the end result. There were nine reoperations after partial and only one after total meniscectomy. The patients were followed up on the average 16 months after operation with a special knee function questionnaire. There was no difference between the groups in score distribution, indicating similar knee function. However, patients in the total meniscectomy group with a follow up longer than 1 year had significantly higher scores than those with a shorter follow up. No such difference was noted in the partial group, possibly indicating that the final level of knee function is reached earlier after partial than after total meniscectomy.