Should keyhole surgery for knee problems be stopped?
The procedure, known as arthroscopy, increases the risk for deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism (a blockage of the main artery of the lung), infection and even death.
What research found
The benefits of surgery seemed to disappear within one to two years, researchers from the University of Southern Denmark discovered. As such, arthroscopy is not suitable for middle-aged and older patients with knee pain, whether or not they have osteoarthritis, they concluded. They based their findings on a review of nine studies, involving 1,270 patients aged between 48 and 63 years.
Source – BMJ, 2015; 350: h2747