The effect of partial lateral meniscectomy in patients > or = 60 years

To determine the benefit, if any, of meniscectomy in an older population, all patients > or = 60 years who underwent partial lateral meniscectomy were evaluated. Thirty-five patients (36 knees) were available for follow-up. The average patient age was 64.9 years. Patients were divided into two groups based on the degree of articular cartilage damage. Patients in group 1 had no damage worse than grade II and underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy only, while patients in Group 2 had grade III or IV damage and underwent arthroscopic debridement as well as partial meniscectomy. With an average follow-up of 36.8 months, the overall failure rate was 13.9%. Eighty-six percent of the patients reported the overall assessment of their knee as improved (94% and 80% in groups 1 and 2, respectively). While patients in group 2 tended to have less favorable results than patients in group 1, these results indicate that this procedure is warranted and that both groups benefited significantly from partial meniscectomy.