This was the wrong day to discover this study.
A major 10-year clinical trial is turning one of the world’s most common knee surgeries on its head. Researchers found that trimming a damaged meniscus—a procedure long believed to relieve pain—offers no real benefit over placebo surgery. Even more surprising, patients who had the operation actually fared worse over time, with more symptoms, poorer function, faster progression of osteoarthritis, and a greater likelihood of needing additional surgery.
Shortly, I’m going in to the local hospital to get an MRI to update the status of my knees before I get that same surgery in less than two weeks.
Fuck. I have been eager to get an operation that promised to ease pain and improve mobility just in time for the summer field season, and now there’s evidence that is also going to diminish the placebo effect.
It should be informative to hear what your surgeon says in light of this, and how they frame it.
Argh, I’m sorry, PZ. It seems like a substantial study, too. A small upside might be if you end up canceling the surgery because of this and avoid making it worse.
I’ve had knee problems since my right knee gave out while marching in formation in the US Army when I was 21 years old. I totally understand your frustration, PZ.
But I am concerned about how the Finnish study did ethical “sham” surgeries. How is that done?
The following negativity is not meant to upset anyone, just being honest about what
I understand after 40 years in the medical field.
I had read about the ineffectiveness of these surgeries, maybe one or two years back. Never saw any follow-up to it. Now there is a new article making similar claims. Not surprised. My close friend had torn cartilage and had a surgical clean up, two years later he had to have a Total Knee Replacement. This always crosses the line with me; doctors basically get paid be piece work. The more patients they can squeeze in, or procedures they can perform, the more money they make. Their practices also have companies come in and financially evaluate each doctor, the report shows how much each doctor brings into the practice. This setup encourages doctors to perform as many procedures as possible with the patient’s wellbeing as a secondary thought. Our medical system has been ruined by Capitalism.
“Placebo surgery?”