The following is an excerpt from a wonderful book by Professor Ian Harris, of Australia. The book “Surgery; the ultimate placebo” is a wonderful read, and probably a must read, for all our knife hungry surgeon friends. Here he says what I have been saying for many years. All surgeries for the meniscal tear, especially arthroscopic surgeries are SHAM and work only by the placebo effect. In prison, football was a popular game and at least once or twice a week, an inmate would sustain an acute meniscal tear with a locked knee.
Being the only in-house doctor, every patient consulted me and was managed only symptomatically. The locked knee was unlocked, bandaged with a crepe, and patient administered NSAID for a few days. Almost all these patients were followed up for 10 years or more, and I maintained meticulous records. Much to my amazement, in a few months all these untreated meniscal…
