Results of meniscectomy in the knee with anterior cruciate ligament deficiency

Sixty-three knees in 62 patients with insufficiency of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) were treated by arthroscopic partial or total meniscectomy without ligament reconstruction. The implications of this sequence of treatment with this combination of pathologies was documented. At 4.5 years after meniscectomy, 84% of the knees were subjectively improved and 10% were subjectively worse. Sixty-eight percent of the patients had persistent knee pain and 52% had episodes of giving way. Roentgenographic evidence of osteoarthrosis was present in 65% of 34 knees at 4.4 years after operation. Additional surgery was required in 24% of the knees. Meniscectomy without a stabilization procedure should be performed only infrequently in knees with deficient ACL.