Abstract
Articular cartilage lesions are frequent findings in arthroscopy. The impairment to quality of life that this kind of lesion inflicts upon patients is well documented. Joint lavage would remove pro-inflammatory mediators, enzymes and debris. Published results addressing the efficacy of this technique have been inconsistent, and most of the controlled studies do not show it to be more effective in pain reduction than control interventions. Arthroscopic debridement and shaving consists of removal of loose bodies, hypertrophied synovium, torn meniscal fragments, and shaving of fibrillated articular cartilage and removal of detached cartilage flaps. Randomised controlled trials are scarce showing no differences favouring debridement. The question arises for orthopaedic surgeons whether these procedures could have small but clinically important benefits that are missed because of a limited sample size or methodological bias.
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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Italia
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Moreno-García, A. (2012). Debridement, Joint Lavage and Cartilage Shaving. In: Rodrìguez-Merchán, E. (eds) Articular Cartilage Defects of the Knee. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2727-5_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2727-5_5
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