[Is arthroscopy always justified in traumatic hemarthrosis of the knee joint?]

Analysis of 100 consecutive arthroscopies in patients with traumatic hemarthrosis of the knee joint demonstrates the importance of arthroscopy in diagnosis and therapy. In 48 cases injuries of the anterior cruciate ligament, isolated and in combination with lesions of other structures, were found. In 47 cases an operation was necessary. In 21 cases the reason for the hemarthrosis was luxation of the patella, in 6 cases with a flake fracture. Isolated lesions of one of the menisci were found in 11 cases and treated arthroscopically in all cases (2 meniscopexies, 1 total meniscectomy , 8 partial meniscectomies). Only in 8 cases unimportant injuries or lesions were found to have caused the hemarthrosis.