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In many people, meniscal damage is asymptomatic, and, in patients with knee pain, the extent of meniscal damage doesn't necessarily correlate with degree of pain (NEJM JW Gen Med Sep 18 2008). In this meta-analysis, researchers assessed whether arthroscopic surgery benefits patients with degenerative meniscal tears, knee pain, and mild or no osteoarthritis. Analysis involved seven randomized, controlled trials (805 patients) in which arthroscopic meniscal debridement was compared with nonoperative treatments.
Mean pain scores did not differ significantly between surgery and control groups — in either the short term (≤6 months) or the long term (as long as 2 years). Mean short-term function scores were better in the surgery group than in the …