ABSTRACT
Objective To explore clinical effect of arthroscopic circumpatellar denervation in anterior knee pain of patellofemoral osteoarthritis and its correlation with cartilage degeneration.Methods Totally 104 patients with anterior knee pain of patellofemoral osteoarthritis were randomly divided into two groups.Patients in control group(n =52) were treated with arthroscopic debridement,and those in combined group(n =52) were treated with arthroscopic debridement plus circumpatellar denervation.All the patients were followed-up for 6 months.The WOMAC scores,knee function recovery were compared between two groups,and the changes of WOMAC score among different degrees of cartilage degeneration were analyzed.Results The WOMAC score of pain,morning stiffness and joint function were significantly improved in combined group than those in control group at 6 months after surgery(P ＜ 0.05).At 6 months after surgery,the score of range of activity and walking distance in both groups were all increased,and combined group had more remarkable increase than that of control group(P ＜ 0.05).Compared with before surgery,the total WOMAC score in patients with grade Ⅰ-m at 6 months after surgery significantly decreased (P ＜ 0.05),while there was no significant difference in patients with grade Ⅳ level between before surgery and 6 months after surgery (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Arthroscopic debridement plus circumpatellar denervation for anterior knee pain of patellofemoral osteoarthritis can effectively relieve pain symptom,promote the recovery of knee joint function,especially suitable for patients with cartilage degeneration of Ⅰ ～ Ⅲ.