Arthroscopic chondroplasty of the patella.

Following failure of conservative treatment, arthroscopic chondroplasty was performed on 41 knees in 40 patients with chondromalacia of the patella as the only lesion. Within a follow-up period averaging 40 months, results were excellent in 10%, good in 39%, fair in 44% and poor in 7%. Seventy-eight percent of patients were subjectively satisfied with their surgery. Age or sex of the patients, grade of the lesion, and duration of the symptoms prior to surgery did not correlate with the final result. The method is considered safe since the few complications recorded were minor and did not affect the end result. Arthroscopic chondroplasty of the patella for chondromalacia patella has proved to be as satisfactory as or superior to more radical surgical approaches; however, conservative care should be the initial and primary method of treatment for this disease.