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Researchers identify complication rates for arthroscopic knee surgery
Researchers discovered a complication rate of 4.7% among patients treated with arthroscopic knee surgery performed by orthopedic and sports medicine surgeons.
“Knee arthroscopy is not a benign procedure, and patients should be aware of the risk of complications,” the authors wrote in their study.
Matthew J. Salzler, MD, and colleagues with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center identified 92,565 arthroscopic knee surgeries in the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery database and collected data on the treating surgeon’s geographic area, sports fellowship training status, patient age and sex.
According to the study abstract, there were 4,305 complications. PCL and ACL reconstructions had the highest complication rates (20.1% and 9%, respectively). The investigators also discovered that male patients had higher complication rates compared to female patients (4.9% vs. 4.3%) and patients younger than 40 years had a complication rate of 6.2% compared to a complication rate of 3.6% for older patients. Surgeons with sports fellowship training had higher complication rates (5.1%) compared to those who did not (4.1%). The rate of pulmonary embolism was 0.11% and this rate was not statistically different in patients who received chemical prophylaxis.
Disclosure: Salzler has no relevant financial disclosures.