[Basic equipment for arthroscopic knee surgery].

Five hundred arthroscopic operations were carried out with a 10-part hand-operated instrument set since January 1984. The most frequent operation was meniscectomy (84%), followed by removal of free bodies (18%) and division of plicae (7%). In four cases, there were instrument-dependent complications. By simulation of the surgical work on the joint in a suitable model, undesired, automatic movements of various instruments could be demonstrated. They depended on the respective principle of construction. The reliable grasping of meniscus tissue and free bodies was often a critical phase of the operation. Traction experiments on meniscus preparations showed that the arthroscopic forceps offered are frequently not equivalent to conventional surgical clamps. Instrument breaks were reconstructed in bending experiments. With some materials, a few bending cycles were sufficient in order to bring about the break. The experience obtained in our operations as well as in the laboratory experiments mentioned are described. Criteria for selection and use of hand-operated instruments for arthroscopic knee surgery are enunciated.