Orthopedic & Muscular System: Current Research
Open Access

Abstract

Partial Knee Joint Denervation for Knee Pain: A Review

A Lee Dellon

Knee pain is transmitted via peripheral nerves. Once a medical or orthopedic surgical musculoskeletal approach has failed to relieve this chronic problem, then a partial knee denervation should be considered. In 1994 the medial and lateral retinacular nerves were described, and these are the main source for knee joint pain. A nerve block of each of these nerves followed by observation of increased stair climbing and kneeling with a decrease in the visual analog scale of >5 predicts a 90% success rate for partial knee denervation. This approach, pioneered by Dellon, is applicable to patients with persistent pain after partial or total knee arthroplasty, and to those with sports injuries and pain after ligament reconstruction, and for those too young for joint replacement. This review includes description of the neuroanatomy, the nerve block technique, the surgical approach and the results of Dellon’s partial knee denervation over the past twenty years.