Arthroscopic treatment of popliteal cyst.

OBJECTIVE

To review the results of arthroscopic treatment of popliteal cysts in our centre and analyse outcomes including complications.

DESIGN

Retrospective study.

SETTING

University teaching hospital, Hong Kong.

PATIENTS: From July 2007 to July 2009, 11 patients with symptomatic popliteal cysts were treated arthroscopically. All of them had preoperative magnetic resonance imaging to confirm the diagnosis, identify the valvular opening, and the associated intra-articular pathology. We used the Rauschning and Lindgren criteria for evaluation.

RESULTS

Intra-articular pathology like cartilage degeneration and meniscus tear were commonly associated with popliteal cysts. All patients achieved symptomatic improvement after treatment and the recurrence rate was low. No major complications were encountered. We failed to identify (and correct) any valvular opening in one patient.

CONCLUSION

From our experience, we conclude that arthroscopic treatment of popliteal cyst with correction of the valvular opening and treatment of associated intra-articular pathology is effective and safe.