Arthroscopic Meniscectomy for the Degenerative Meniscus with Mild to Moderate Osteoarthritis: A Contemporary Analysis.

» Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) for the treatment of degenerative meniscal tears has been controversial, and quantification of its benefits has been limited by methodological problems and varying clinical definitions.» Among the problems with APM are patients crossing over from the treatment arm to which they have been randomized to another treatment and analyzed by the randomized treatment, whether they received that treatment or not.» Aggregated information suggests that a program of structured exercise is a reasonable initial treatment for degenerative meniscal tears with APM reserved for patients who fail nonsurgical therapy.