[Arthroscopic knee diagnosis in the non-specialized surgical department].

From the review of 200 cases we conclude that arthroscopy is not only indispensable to the specialized knee surgeon, but also very useful to the general surgeon in a smaller hospital who has to deal with the routine knee problems. The method allows to establish the diagnoses in almost any situation and helps to avoid unnecessary delays and unnecessary operations. Arthroscopy needs general anaesthesia, but when the diagnosis calls for surgical treatment, the operation is performed immediately under the same anaesthesia. The knee examination by arthroscopy is neither time-consuming nor technically or financially demanding. Complications are extremely rare.