HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Thein, R. Articles by Eichenblat, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Thein, R. Articles by Eichenblat, M. Related Collections Chondral/cartilage Arthroscopy

Concealed Knee Cartilage Lesions: Is Arthroscopic Probing Therapeutic?

Unit of Arthroscopic Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kaplan Medical Centre, Rehovot, affiliated with the Hebrew University Medical School and Hadassah, Jerusalem, Israel

* Address correspondence and reprint requests to Rafael Thein, MD, Unit of Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine, Rabin Medical Center, Affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Golda Campus, 49372 Petach Tikvah, Israel

We report on 34 knee arthroscopic procedures (of 976 knee procedures performed during a 2-year period) performed on patients with chronic knee symptoms or symptoms mimicking a torn meniscus. All patients had deep articular cartilage lesions over which the superficial cartilage appeared normal. These lesions were not diagnosed on radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging, or bone scintigraphy. Only careful arthroscopic probing disclosed the deep cartilage separation. The treatment consisted of cartilage puncturing with a probe, which in 14 cases led to the evacuation of blood. This simple technique produced resolution of symptoms in 30 (88.2%) patients. This condition affects athletes and soldiers undergoing military training and, in many cases, is an expression of an overuse syndrome. The incidence of these lesions was 3.5% in a series of relatively young patients. The lesion should be suspected in cases of unexplained knee pain in the athlete and soldier and in patients with previous negative arthroscopic examinations or meniscal lesions that were treated but remained unresolved. To our knowledge, bleeding from "closed" cartilage lesions has not been previously described. We raise the question of whether arthroscopic probing and cartilage puncturing is the method of treatment.