Degenerative knee arthritis is not improved by undergoing elective knee arthroscopy. In fact the condition may be made worse as evidenced by an increased risk of future knee replacement surgery in those who have had the surgery compared with those who do not.
While this is not a new revelation, the evidence is now even more compeling. Data was analysized from 13 randomized control trials [the gold standard of reasearch types] by surgeons, physical therapists, clinicians and patients.
After considering the balance of benefits, harms and burdens of knee arthroscopy, as well as the quality of the evidence for each outcome, the 
panel made a “strong recommendation against arthroscopy.”
Arthroscopic Surgery won’t cure chronic knee pain, “locking,” “clicking,” a torn meniscus, or other problems related to knee arthritis, according to a panel of international experts. “It does more harm than good,” Dr. Reed Siemieniuk, chair of the guideline panel, told Reuters Health by email.
Every year, more than two million people with degenerative knee problems have arthroscopic surgery, in which a surgeon inserts a tiny camera into the knee and uses small instruments to try to fix what’s wrong.
But guidelines published Wednesday in the British Medical Journal recommend against the procedure for just about everyone with knee arthritis. Read More
Just Say No If You Understand the Evidence
Dr. Siemieniuk, who works in the department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada even went so far as to say that “We believe that no one or almost no one would want this surgery if they understand the evidence.”
Why undergo a surgery with the potential for blood clots and infection for less than a 15 % probability of a small or very small improvement in short term function with most of the positive effects lasting less than a year?
Final Take Home Point: If your goal is to prevent knee replacement surgery, you’ll be better off getting more serious about your weight loss program then having knee arthroscopy surgery for your degenerative knee arthritis. Stay out of the surgical suite and work on noninvasive methods of weight management and inflammation control.
