Arthroscopic resection of meniscal flaps of the knee

We describe the results of arthroscopic partial resection of isolated flap tears of the menisci in 37 patients who were randomly selected for review from the hospital records. The results were compared with those in a control group of 39 patients that underwent diagnostic arthroscopy during the same period. The follow-up of the patients after 1 to 2 years was based on a questionnaire. The patients with resected flap tears did better than the controls, who usually suffered from minor degenerative changes of the knee joint. However, the flap-tear patients with otherwise usually normal arthroscopic findings often continued to have discomfort and failed to gain a normal Lysholm score.