Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy: 5-year follow-up.

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of preexisting chondromalacia at time of surgery on the results at a minimum of 5 years follow-up of arthroscopic partial meniscectomy. The patients were divided into two groups: group I (87 patients, average age 29.8 years) with no intraoperative findings of chondromalacia at the time of surgery, and group II (234 patients, average age 39.2 years) with chondromalacia at the time of surgery. The follow-up period was 70-86 months, with the criterion of a minimum of 5 years in each patient. Postoperative changes were evaluated according to Fairbank's classification and preoperative X-rays were compared to follow-up X-rays. For statistical analysis the Mann-Whitney test was used. In both groups arthroscopic partial lateral meniscectomy led to worse results in respect of the development of osteoarthritis. Following partial medial meniscectomy preexisting chondromalacia had a negative influence on the radiological outcome. An increase of osteoarthritis was also proven in our patient population which was statistically significantly related to age and female sex (P = 0.002).