Does meniscectomy affect our knee joint?

  The human body is made up of multiple organs. Each organ has its own unique function, and it is the constant work of these organs that keeps people alive. The meniscus in the knee joint also has important functions for the human body, such as stabilizing the joint, preventing joint displacement and dislocation, and because the meniscus has a certain degree of elasticity, it can cushion the two bony surfaces from impact, absorb shock, protect the joint, transmit the load force of the knee joint and promote the distribution of joint cartilage nutrition. Therefore, if the meniscus is completely removed, all of its functions are lost, which inevitably leads to knee joint dysfunction and laxity of the joint ligaments. Due to the gravitational force of the body, a large amount of stress must be concentrated on the contact point between the femoral condyle and the tibial plateau, and the force is relatively limited. In the long run, damage to the cartilage is bound to occur, thus, leading to degenerative changes in the knee joint. Nutritional disorders of the articular cartilage are also a cause of degeneration. Tianke, Orthopedic Department of Zhengzhou University First Affiliated Hospital A large amount of clinical data proves that when the meniscus injury, experienced the traditional arthrotomy meniscectomy total removal, but the postoperative long-term follow-up view involvement results show that the total meniscectomy can promote premature degenerative changes in the knee joint, namely, joint aging, intra-articular cartilage wear necrosis off, subchondral bone exposed, joint edge bone superfluous formation, joint gap narrowing, therefore Drs. Danby and Jackson, who followed 174 patients with total meniscectomy for an average of 3.6 years after surgery, demonstrated that degenerative knee disease occurred in 49% of patients through arthroscopic examination. Many scholars have emphasized that total meniscectomy in adolescents is more preferable to the risk of early onset of osteoarthritis.  In recent years, in order to avoid the disadvantages after total meniscectomy, the meniscus is preserved as much as possible when it is damaged. Many scholars have researched and proposed the current internationally accepted procedures – arthroscopic partial meniscectomy and revision, and arthroscopic meniscal suture repair. In conclusion, preserving the meniscus as much as possible so that its function can be maintained to a certain extent is the latest opinion on the management of meniscus problems.