Prognostic Factors of Arthroscopic Adhesiolysis for Arthrofibrosis of the Knee

PURPOSE To assess the results of arthroscopic adhesiolysis for arthrofibrosis of the knee and to investigate possible prognostic factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS Among the patients who developed arthrofibrosis after knee joint surgery, 68 patients who underwent arthroscopic adhesiolysis and were available for at least one-year follow-up were evaluated with regard to the Lysholm knee score, International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective knee score, patient satisfaction, and range of motion (ROM) of the knee. The influence of possible prognostic factors including the cause of arthrofibrosis, duration of disease, and age of the patient on the postoperative ROM was analyzed. RESULTS Sixty-one patients (89.7%) obtained an average increase of 48.6° in ROM; however, the remaining seven patients (10.3%) did not show any increase at the final follow-up. The Lysholm knee score and IKDC subjective knee score increased significantly at the final follow-up. Patient satisfaction was high or very high in 89.7% of the patients at the final follow-up. There was no association between the cause of arthrofibrosis and the increase in postoperative ROM. The duration of disease was significantly related to the postoperative recovery of ROM. Age had no significant influence on the postoperative recovery of ROM. CONCLUSIONS We believe that arthroscopic adhesiolysis is effective for the treatment of intraarticular arthrofibrosis. In particular, the duration of the disease had significant influence on the postoperative outcome.