Objective To explore the effectivness of arthroscopic synovectomy in the treatment of pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) of the knee. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 13 patients with PVNS of the knee treated with arthroscopic synovectomy between June 2008 and December 2011, including 8 left knees and 5 right knees. There were 9 males and 4 females, aged 25-45 years (mean, 33 years). Of 13 patients, 5 had a history of trauma, and 8 had no history of trauma. The disease duration ranged from 4 months to 80 months (mean, 44 months). The preoperative Lysholm score was 45.3 ± 4.2, and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) 2000 score was 46.8 ± 4.9. All patients underwent arthroscopic synovectomy and postoperative radiotherapy. Results The pathological examination proved PVNS in all cases. All incisions obtained healing by first intention after operation. There was no neurovascular injury or knee infection. The average follow-up period was 21.8 months (range, 12-30 months). The Lysholm score was 90.2 ± 7.4, and IKDC2000 score was 87.8 ± 3.8 at last follow-up, showing significant differences when compared with preoperative scores (t=22.64, P=0.00; t=24.32, P=0.00). No recurrence was observed during follow-up. Conclusion Arthroscopic synovectomy can be effective in the treatment of PVNS of the knee, and it has the merits of minimal invasion, rapid function recovery of the knee joint, and satisfactory results. So it is a safe, promising, and minimal invasive procedure in treatment of PVNS.
ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical outcome of arthroscopic synovectomy for inpatients with rheumatoid knee. MethodsArthroscopic synovectomy was performed on 32 rheumatoid knees in 31 patients, including 10 males and 21 females with an average age of (35.5±8.7) years (23 to 51 years) between January 2009 and March 2013. The patients' mean morbidity duration was (12.0±5.5) years (5 to 21 years). X-ray examination results were observed before the operation, 1 year and 2 years after the operation, and then Larsen method was used for assessment. Pain alleviation, C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factors (RF), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were compared before and after operation. ResultsThe follow-up averaged 1.7 years, and the average pain score decreased from 4.23±0.96 before surgery to 2.21±0.87 one year after surgery; RF decreased from (265.3±120.1) U/mL to (89.2±12.1) U/mL; CRP decreased from (89.36±32.12) mg/L to (20.12±10.21) mg/L; and ESR decreased from (86.56±12.32) mm/h to (45.23±11.12) mm/h. ConclusionArthroscopic synovectomy can effectively relieve pain and delay radiologic progression in patients with rheumatoid knees.