Historical Changes in Meniscus Surgery--The Changing Appreciation of Disease, Surgical Techniques and Complications

Abstract

The menisci play an important role in normal function of the knee joint. Meniscal injuries are associated with pain, swelling, impairment in function and activity level as well as early arthrosis of the knee joint. Patients with meniscal tears have to undergo surgery frequently. The pathway from the beginning of meniscal surgery to the modern arthroscopic meniscal surgery was not straightforward. The clinical picture of meniscal injuries, which caused articular trouble, was controversial for a long time. Meniscal surgery developed from knee joint surgery of the loose articular bodies. The first meniscal tear was not described until 1731. More than 100 years later, in 1866 the first planned meniscal surgery was performed. The importance of surgical techniques of meniscal resection and meniscal repair was emphasised in 1885. The beginning of knee joint arthroscopy took place in the 2nd decade of the 20th century. However, arthroscopy did not start its triumphal phase not until the 1960s coursing from Japan over North America to Europe. Approximately 150 years had passed from the risky arthrotomy surgeries of the past to the modern arthroscopic meniscal surgeries with low complication rates. Today, arthroscopic knee surgeries and especially arthroscopic meniscal surgeries are one of the most frequently performed orthopaedic procedures.