[Diagnosis of meniscus damage]

Abstract

Often, the clinical signs of an injured meniscus are not characteristic. The most reliable diagnostic tool in evaluation of meniscal damage is arthroscopy (diagnostic accuracy greater than 95%). It provides precise information on the nature and extent of a meniscal tear. The advent of arthroscopic surgery has favoured the use of endoscopy even as a diagnostic procedure. Arthrography is abandoned except in cases where arthroscopic meniscectomy is not feasible. As additional non-invasive examinations, magnetic resonance and ultrasound may be used; however, both methods are still not generally accepted and do not allow diagnosis and therapy as a one step procedure as does arthroscopy.