Medical Question...

[irerancincpkc]

Has anyone ever torn a Meniscus, in the knee? My father just found out he did, and he has an appointment to see if he needs surgery or whatever, and I was just wondering what all it entailed...

[Sarevok]

Well... if he can still go to the appointment on his own, it can't be that bad... Usually when people tear a meniscus, they're on the ground screaming and calling for an ambulance, iirc.

[Davian93]

Well... if he can still go to the appointment on his own, it can't be that bad... Usually when people tear a meniscus, they're on the ground screaming and calling for an ambulance, iirc.

That's sounds about right. I know alot about ACL and MCL tears but not meniscuses.

[irerancincpkc]

Well he has had trouble walking for about a year now, but was too stubborn to go to the Doctors, but a couple days ago he just collapsed. He still walks on it, but he has to hobble.

But thanks, hopefully if he can walk on it, that means no surgery...

[Davian93]

Well he has had trouble walking for about a year now, but was too stubborn to go to the Doctors, but a couple days ago he just collapsed. He still walks on it, but he has to hobble.

But thanks, hopefully if he can walk on it, that means no surgery...

Actually he'll probably end up getting his knee 'scoped to clean out any cartilage damage as a result of the injury. Its a minimally invasive procedure that has a very short recovery time (couple weeks). Probably won't get cut open too much though.

[Crispin's Crispian]

Actually he'll probably end up getting his knee 'scoped to clean out any cartilage damage as a result of the injury. Its a minimally invasive procedure that has a very short recovery time (couple weeks). Probably won't get cut open too much though.
That sounds about right, Dav. My dad had arthroscopic knee surgery, and they may have replaced is meniscus with something artificial. He was up and around in a week or two, and this was several years ago.

[Gilshalos Sedai]

My mother had that done. I was in college at the time and don't remember a lot of it. I do remember I was safe from her kicking me in the backside afterwards, though.


I'm kidding!

[Zaela Sedai]

I had arthoscopic knee surgery on my meniscus almost two years ago. Mine was actually due to it being a circle shape instead of the crescent shape its supposed to be. They cut itto the right shape to fix it. I was on the couch for about 2 days and on crutches for 2 weeks...though i could walk on it before that...so no worries he'll be fine I'm sure.

I was at Yankee stadium a week after on the crutches in the bleachers, on the subways...etc...etc...wasn't gonna miss a yanks/sox game now come on!

[Sei'taer]

I've had a tear in my right knee for years now. Doctors are off and on about sugery, but I just dodge it if I can. The only time it really bothers me is when I sit still for a long time (like a plane ride to Seattle) or if I do a lot of heavy lifting (like helping someone move). I found this to kind of ease your mind. According to docs that I have talked to, they don't even put you to sleep for the surgery, they will sedate you if necessary though.


Is surgery necessary for meniscus tears?
The next step is to determine whether or not surgery is necessary for a meniscus tear. If an individual is not a good surgical candidate or if their meniscus tear symptoms are not significant, surgery can often be delayed or avoided altogether. Many people live normal lives despite having a meniscus tear. It is only when the meniscus tear becomes symptomatic, and interferes with activities, that surgery to treat the meniscus tear should be considered.

Meniscus Repair
A meniscus repair is a surgical procedure done to repair the damaged meniscus. This procedure can restore the normal anatomy of the knee, and has a better long-term prognosis when successful. However, the meniscus repair is a more significant surgery, the recovery is longer, and, because of limited blood supply to the meniscus, it is not always possible.

Meniscectomy
A meniscectomy is a procedure to remove the torn portion of the meniscus. This procedure is far more commonly performed than a meniscus repair. Most meniscus tears cannot be treated by a repair for a number of reasons. Often the tear is in an avascular region of the meniscus, and will not heal even if repaired. Some tears are frayed and cannot be sutured together. In these cases, the meniscectomy is done to remove the damaged portion of meniscus. The meniscectomy has a faster recovery, but it can lead to trouble years down the road because of the absence of the normal meniscus.

[Yuri33]

Well, you know I can't help respond to a thread like this, even if it is a little late :)

The meniscus is this crescent moon-shaped piece of cartilage that provides cushion and "lubrication" between the femur and the tibia. There's two at each knee, medial and lateral.

The treatment plan is largely based on the mechanism of the meniscal tear. If it was from a specific incident, like twisting a bent knee, or a sports injury (the "unhappy triad" injury--where someone is tackled on the outside of their knee--is one common example), then you're probably looking at a tear in the vascular region (the outer 1/3 of the meniscus, usually the medial one), and can probably be repaired by arthroscopic surgery.

If its from wear over a long time, the injury tends to be more widespread, especially to the avascular inner regions of the meniscus. In that case, the prognosis is worse. You have to do a partial or complete meniscectomy, as explained above (a complete has a very poor prognosis and usually results in an eventual total knee replacement).

The definitive diagnosis and treatment plan depends on the history (acute injury or wear and tear) as well as an MRI of the knee. Hopefully, your father has only an acute tear, which can be repaired with minimal recovery time.

[irerancincpkc]

Thanks everyone. He's going to see a specialist here in a couple days.

I'm worried it is a wear over a long time, since he has had problems with it for a while, but we'll see.

[Zaela Sedai]

The meniscus is this crescent moon-shaped

Except when you're defective like me!

[Gilshalos Sedai]

We always knew you were a mutant, Z. What's your power, anyway?