Introduction Closed suction drainage is widely used in orthopaedic interventions, on the theory that this will remove the initial hemarthrosis [3]. Although some authors have failed to support the perceived benefit of suction drain- age of wounds [1, 4, 8, 9, 14, 15], it has become an established routine procedure, mostly in total joint replacements, with the aim of preventing wound hema- tomas and thereby reducing wound complications and infection [13]. Drainage of the knee after meniscectomy was first described by Chandler [6] in 1949. Although Bryan et al. [4] have concluded that drainage offered no advantage in recovery of strength and movement after meniscectomy, Browett et al. [3] have stated that the patients had great Hasan Tatari Mahmut Dervis ¸ bey Kıvanc¸ Muratlı Alp Ergo¨r Report of experience in 190 patients with the use of closed suction drainage in arthroscopic knee procedures Received: 27 October 2003 Accepted: 26 February 2004 Published online: 13 November 2004 Ó Springer-Verlag 2004 Abstract The goal of this study is to report our experience with the use of suction drainage for various arthro- scopic knee procedures. One hun- dred and ninety patients who underwent arthroscopic knee proce- dures participated in the study, and were divided into two groups (Group 1: Suction drainage, Group 2: No suction drainage). For every patient, the following parameters were recorded: age, gender, opera- tive time, tourniquet or pump use, the amount of fluid collected in the hemovac drain, presence of meniscal tear, type of the operative proce- dure, date of the operation, and presence of effusion at the follow-up. Statistical analysis was performed to detect any significant statistical dif- ference between the amount of fluid collected in the hemovac drain and the other mentioned parameters in Group 1; and these patients were divided into four subgroups to facilitate the statistical evaluation between the procedures and the amount of fluid collected in the he- movac drain. The partial meniscec- tomy subgroup had significantly lower amounts of collected fluid when compared to the subtotal me- niscectomy subgroup. Drilling of the osteochondral faces led to signifi- cantly higher amounts of fluid when compared to non-drilling cases. Use of an infusion pump during surgery and shorter operation time led to lower amounts of fluid to be col- lected. No case in either main group suffered from effusion at the follow- up. Our investigation demonstrated that in different arthroscopic inter- ventions, variable amounts of fluid can be collected in the hemovac drains. Subtotal meniscal resection, drilling of the osteochondral faces and longer duration of the operation increase the amount of fluid. In cases of partial meniscal resection and/or chondral debridement, limited synovial and plica resection, suction drainage is unnecessary. Keywords Arthroscopy Æ Suction drainage Æ Infusion pump Æ Drilling DOI 10.1007/s00167-004-0537-1 Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc (2005) 13: 458–462 KNEE H. Tatari Æ M. Dervis¸bey Æ K. Muratlı Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, School of Medicine, Dokuz Eylu¨l University, 35340 _ Inciraltı, _ Izmir, Turkey H. Tatari (&) Mithatpasa, Mithatpat¸a Cad. No: 794/2, 35280 Ko¨pru¨, _ Izmir, Turkey E-mail: hasan.tatari@deu.edu.tr Tel.: +90-232-4123365 Fax: +90-232-2772277 A. Ergo¨r Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Dokuz Eylu¨l University, 35340 _ Inciraltı, _ Izmir, Turkey