Outcomes of knee arthroscopy under local anaesthesia

Objective: To evaluate the outcome of knee arthroscopy performed under local anaesthesia.Methods: In a retrospective study between 1999 and 2004, the medical charts, theatre reports and radiological images of 225 patients were reviewed. Function was assessed from SF-36, WOMAC, Tegner and Lysholm scores. Patients were interviewed by telephone or by the Internet.Results: Of the 115 patients who completed the study, 88 (77%) were men and 27 (23%) were women, with a mean age of 48 (+11.5) years. The mean follow-up was 18 months (range, 3-60). The left knee was operated on in 62 (54%) cases and the right knee in 53 (46%) cases. Both patient and surgeon satisfaction was >90%, especially in the case of normal healthy patients and patients with mild systemic disease, minimal synovitis, a good response to local anaesthesia, minimal ipsilateral hip osteoarthritis and no recent partial collateral ligament injury.Conclusion: Arthroscopy under local anaesthesia is an effective, safe method for treating knee disease. Our results are comparable to those in the current literature.