An arthroscopic meniscectomy is a procedure to remove some or all of a meniscus from the tibio-femoral joint of the knee using arthroscopic (keyhole) surgery. The procedure can be a complete meniscectomy where the meniscus and the meniscal rim is removed or partial where only a section of the meniscus is removed. This may vary from a minor trimming of a frayed edge to anything short of removing the rim. This is a minimally invasive procedure often carried out as an outpatient in a one-day clinic and is performed when a meniscal tear is too large to be corrected by a surgical repair of the meniscus.

Where non-operative therapy provides some degree of symptom relief over the long-term, these benefits may become increasingly ineffective as the affected meniscus degenerates over time. In such cases, partial arthroscopic meniscectomy can be more effective in improving patient quality of life.