Abstract: Objective To investigate the effectiveness of arthroscopic debridement and drilling in the treatment of knee articular cartilage degeneration. Methods From January 2009 to February 2013, 87 eligible patients with knee joint cartilage degeneration were randomly divided into two groups. Among 87 cases, 45 patients (56 knees, Group A) underwent arthroscopic debridement, 42 patients (51 knees, Group B) underwent arthroscopic debridement plus subchondral bone drilling. And the effectiveness in two groups were observed. Results In group A, 6 months after treatment, the excellent and good rate was 64.29%, while group B was 84.31%. There was significant difference between the two groups (P<0.01). All the patients were followed up for 2 years, the excellent and good rate in B group at 6 months, 1 and 2 years after operation were 89.29%, 80.36% and 75.00% respectively, the curative effect of 2 years after operation was significantly lower than 6 months after operation (P=0.04). Conclusion The effectiveness of arthroscopic debridement plus drilling technique for the treatment of articular cartilage degeneration is better than simple arthroscopic debridement, but the effect may reduce with the time prolonging.

Key words: Cartilage degeneration of knee joint, Arthroscopy, Drilling treatment