caa a22 4500 46573359X CHVBK 20180323111748.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170327e19900401xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/BF00440577 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/BF00440577 Arthroscopic cartilage debridement by excimer laser in chondromalacia of the knee joint [Elektronische Daten] A prospective randomized clinical study [J. Raunest, J. Löhnert] Summary: A new operative technique in arthroscopic treatment of chondromalacia using ultraviolet laser systems is introduced. The postoperative results are evaluated in a prospective and randomized clinical trial. One hundred and forty patients stage II or III chondromalacia according to Outerbridge were randomly assigned to arthroscopic operation using either laser or mechanical instruments. After a 6-month follow-up period the clinical results were compared, guided by a specially designed modification of the Lysholm scoring scale. In the short-term follow-up laser surgery gave superior results in regard to reducing pain (P < 0.05) and leading to a lower incidence of reactive synovitis (P < 0.01). No difference was found in respect of disability and functional impairment. Our results lead to the conclusion that arthroscopic laser application seems to be a successful procedure in the treatment of degenerative cartilage disorders, providing precise ablation of tissue without significant thermal damage to the remaining cartilage. Springer-Verlag, 1990 Raunest J. Surgical Clinic A, Center for Operative Medicine I, University of Düsseldorf, Germany aut Löhnert J. Department of Surgery, St. Marien-Hospital, Gelsenkirchen-Buer, Germany aut Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Springer-Verlag 109/3(1990-04-01), 155-159 0936-8051 109:3<155 1990 109 402 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00440577 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00440577 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Raunest J. Surgical Clinic A, Center for Operative Medicine I, University of Düsseldorf, Germany aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Löhnert J. Department of Surgery, St. Marien-Hospital, Gelsenkirchen-Buer, Germany aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Springer-Verlag 109/3(1990-04-01), 155-159 0936-8051 109:3<155 1990 109 402 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer