The Role of Arthroscopy in the Treatment of Degenerative Meniscus Tear

Degenerative meniscus lesions typically involve a horizontal cleavage of the meniscus, as result of slowly developing changes of mucoid degeneration and sheer stresses to the meniscus. Typically, these injuries are not a result of acute knee trauma. These lesions are tremendously common to asymptomatic people despite they can also be implicated in persistent pain and/or mechanical symptoms. They are found incidentally in about every third knee in the general population after the age of 50, and their prevalence further increases with age. The degenerative meniscus lesions have been implicated in increased risk of meniscus radial displacement and deformation, resulting in increased hyaline cartilage contact stresses. In essence degenerative meniscus lesions should be clearly distinguished from traumatic meniscal tears due to their different etiologies, high prevalence, and strong association with degenerative joint disease including several degrees of osteoarthritis.