Total arthroscopic debridement and suture for meniscus cysts under local anesthesia:a report of 42 cases

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the effects of total arthroscopic debridement and suture for meniscus cysts under local anesthesia.Methods Forty-two patients with meniscus cysts hospitalized from March 2005 to November 2009(27 males and 15 females,aged 15 to 46 years with mean of 31.2±6.3 years) were involved in present study,and all of them underwent arthroscopic debridement and meniscus suture under local anesthesia.Patient satisfaction rate for operation was evaluated,the Lysholm score and pain visual analogue scale(VAS) of patients before and after operation were compared,and the postoperative complications and cyst recurrence were recorded.Results Follow-up data were available for all the 42 patients,the duration was 13 months to 5 years(mean 26.4±11.8 months).No postoperative complication or cyst recurrence was found.The postoperative Lysholm score(90.63±9.45) was significantly higher than that of preoperative(40.75±11.39,P=0.00),while the postoperative pain VAS score(1.63±2.29) was significantly lower than that of preoperative(7.50±2.82,P=0.00).According to Molster’ classification for Lysholm score,27 of the 42 patients were classified as excellent,12 as good,3 as fair and 0 as poor,thus the total excellent and good proportion was 92.9%.The ratio of satisfaction for operation was 95.2%.Conclusion Total arthroscopic debridement and suture under local anesthesia is an effective surgical procedure for treatment of meniscus cysts with small incision,less tissue trauma,high degree of safety,and beneficial for early rehabilitation.