DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC ARTHROSCOPY IN SYMPTOMATIC PATIENTS AFTER KNEE ARTHROPLASTY

Objectives: Assess the worthiness of arthroscopy in investigating and treating knee pain after arthroplasty unexplained by clinical and subsidiary examinations. Methods: Among 402 patients submitted to total or unicompartimental arthroplasty between September 2001 and April 2007 at a public university hospital, 17 presented with pain on prosthetic articulation, without clear diagnosis by clinical, X-ray, laboratory, scintiscan, or nuclear magnetic resonance tests. All patients were submitted to arthroscopy and symptoms were assessed by using the Lysholm scale, comparing pre-and post-arthroscopy periods. Peroperative findings have been recorded. Results: The procedure was effective for pain relief in 14 of 17 patients (82.35%). The median for Lysholm scale climbed from 36 points before arthroscopy to 94 points after the procedure (p < 0.001). Most of the patients (12) were arthroscopically diagnosed with fibrosis known as “cyclop”; on the remaining five patients, anterior synovitis was found. All patients were treated by resection. Conclusions: Knee arthroscopy after arthroplasty in patients presenting unclear persistent pain shows localized arthrofibrosis (“cyclops”) or synovitis, which can be treated by using the same procedure, resulting in pain relief.