Arthroscopic synovectomy of the knee joint: indication, technique, and follow-up results

Between 1981 and 1986, at the Orthopaedic Clinic of the University of Düsseldorf, arthroscopic synovectomy of the knee was performed on 59 joints in 56 patients. The follow-up examination covered 45 knee joints in 43 patients (18 female and 27 male patients). The follow-up results, taken at an average of 2.7 years after the arthroscopic synovectomy, have up to now been good and equal to those achieved using the conventional technique. In this experience, arthroscopic synovectomy is a surgical procedure that places less strain on the patient in the early postoperative healing period. An arthrotomy was no longer required in the hypertrophic synovial diseases treated during this time. Fibroarthrosis, not uncommon after conventional arthrotomy, did not occur. Only a few stab incisions were necessary to reach all--in particular the posterior--knee-joint cavities. Postoperative pain was markedly reduced from a preoperative level of 16.6 points (47%) (35 maximum points possible, or 100%) to a level of 29.5 points (84%) at follow-up. Patients who experienced an open synovectomy previously in the other knee now favor the arthroscopic procedure. The majority of the patients had a range of motion between 0 and 120 degrees within the first 2 weeks after surgery. Swelling disappeared from a preoperative score of 2.9 points (19%) (15 maximal points possible, or 100%) to 12.2 points (81%). Subjectively, 78% of the patients were satisfied with the result of arthroscopic synovectomy, 7% considered the procedure a partial success, and 15% were dissatisfied.