Meniscal surgery may “accelerate” radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis in patients with a degenerative meniscus tear, a small study suggests.

Patients who get arthroscopic partial meniscectomy have similar five-year outcomes and increased risk of radiographic knee osteoarthritis as without surgery, the Finnish findings show.

Senior study author Dr Teppo Jarvinen, of the department of orthopaedics at Helsinki University Hospital, said it was a “big deal” if one of the world’s most common surgeries turned out to be a sham or even harmful.

“In addition to not providing symptom relief, APM seems to cause harm in the form of slightly accelerating the progression of knee osteoarthritis,” said Dr Jarvinen.