Is Knee Surgery Really Effective?

Though many patients may choose knee surgery as an effective treatment after other surgeries have failed, these procedures can still be dangerous and potentially fatal, according to a recent study, with a relatively small hope of a full recovery without pain. 

Study researchers recruited 146 participants in Finland who suffered from knee pain. Their pain was thought to be due to wear and tear of the meniscus, which is responsible for cautioning of the knee bones. However, none of the participants had a recognized injury or osteoarthritis that would have not made them a good candidate for surgery. Yet while some were assigned to undergo surgery that would repair the meniscus, others were assigned to fake knee surgery.

Study results showed that one year following surgery, improvements seen in the knee were the same in both groups. For instance, 77 percent of patients who received surgery reported being satisfied with their outcome, while 93 percent of those participants believed that they would undergo surgery again. However, 70 percent in the fake knee surgery group satisfied, with 96 percent of those saying they would undergo the same procedure again, as well.

"If you scope the knee [without touching the cushion], that will often help even if you don't completely address the torn meniscus issue," Dr. Craig Bennett, the chief of sports medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center, said according to FOX News. "You're taking out the junky, thick irritating fluid that can give a lot of people their pain."

Lead study researchers Dr. Teppo Jarvinen from the University of Helsinki concludes that some doctors may need to reconsider recommending knee surgery in some patients as it may not be as effective or useful as previously thought.

As it stands, the study authors note that as many as 700,000 arthroscopic partial meniscectomies are performed in the United States each year alone, at a direct cost of $4 billion. 

More information regarding the study can be found via the New England Journal of Medicine.