Abstract
Aim
To find out the usefulness of knee arthroscopy with debridement in patients of 60 years or more.
Materials and Methods
We retrospectively looked at the patients of 60 years or more age who under went knee arthroscopy between Jan 2012 and Dec 2012 and collected demographic data, indications for arthroscopy, grading of preoperative knee x-rays (Kellgren-Lawrence), intra-operative findings, post operative relief of symptoms and any further surgeries till the time of study.
Results
n=58, mean age was 67.3 years (60 – 81), male: female ratio 36:26, side 26:36 (R: L). Mean follow up 14.8 weeks (2–52). Most common indication was medial meniscus pathology (60%). More than 50% of the cases were of Grade III and IV (Kellgren-Lawrence). Intra-operative findings showed 62% tri-compartment and 12% bi-compartment arthritic involvement. 59% had medial, 7% had lateral and 7% had both meniscus tears. 75% of the patients felt symptomatically better at the time of last follow up and only 14% of the patients under went arthroplasty till the time of study.
Conclusion
We conclude that knee arthroscopy with debridement offers symptomatic relief in majority (75%) of patients of 60 years or more of age with only few (14%) requiring early arthroplasty.
