Repaired meniscus

[Skise]

Has anyone had their meniscus repaired? I'm wondering about recovery and what about skiing... I think this was the first repair this orthopedic surgeon did and perhaps the first one in the hospital also. The physiotherapist knew nothing and the surgeon took 2-3 hours to write me some advice for post op care: "use the orthosis for 4 weeks to keep the knee straight, full weightbearing allowed, weeks 4-6 only bend your knee max 90 degrees, no sports for 3 months" and that's it. No "sports" at all for 3 months and then I can overnight do anything I want? Interesting enough my friend had the exact opposite directions, she was allowed only partial weightbearing but was allowed to flex the knee immediately :D

 

[Mary Tee]

I had meniscus repair a few years ago. I was on crutches for one day, full weight bearing after that. I was told to bend knee as far as comfortable, and stop if pain. When I went for the follow up visit after one week, I was told I could resume all normal activity, taking it easy at first and to use common sense, stopping if I felt pain. I had mine done in the spring, so wasn't trying to ski for about 8 or 9 months, but was water skiing about 2 months later.

 

[Jilly]

I think everyone is different with this type of injury. It also depends on your fitness, age and where the tear is.

I had an 8mm repair done 2 years ago. Inside meniscus. I was weight bearing the next day. I was told to keep the knee up and ice it to avoid swelling. I did physio as I also had arthritis. Since it was September I wasn't skiing, but did take it easy in the gym. The physio and my gym are connected so that worked well. I skied the end of November. Surgery was September 15th. Physio was stationary bike, electric stimuli, massage and pulling the joint.

Now, I have an employee that goes in next week. He's off work for 6 weeks. His job does involve standing and I think that is why he's off. Plus he has a really big tear, he's over weight and not active.

 

[marzNC]

As mentioned, there are several different types of meniscus tears. Some don't even require surgery to heal. For those that do, I would guess that recovery and PT depends on the type of tear as well. Some of the common sports injury types are radial, bucket handle, or flap.

https://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/knee-pain/acute-knee-injuries/medial-meniscus-tear

 

[Skise]

Mine was bucket handle tear of lateral meniscus. Large, displaced piece. 2 months off work, 3rd month limited work (no large animals, so I took the third month off as my summer vacation). I'm not overweight and I am reasonably fit but I am over 40 (that seemed to be a very bad thing according to the first orthopedic surgeon to see me, a very young one ) Two months after surgery I wouldn't have been able to come to work, the knee was quite a lot worse than I imagined it would be at that stage. It's been three months now and on Saturday was the first time the knee didn't bother me at all when I was walking my dogs. Then on Sunday I stepped into a hole, overextended my knee and now it isn't that good any more

 

[VickiK]

Hope your knee will feel better soon, @Skise .

 

[Skier31]

There is a difference between meniscus repair and excision. I had a meniscus repair and was non wb for a month. It is my understanding that actual repairs are fragile due to linited blood supply. PT was very specific about what I could and could not do. I suggest clarifying with your doctor and find a skilled therapist.

 

[marzNC]

Mine was bucket handle tear of lateral meniscus. Large, displaced piece. 2 months off work, 3rd month limited work (no large animals, so I took the third month off as my summer vacation). I'm not overweight and I am reasonably fit but I am over 40 (that seemed to be a very bad thing according to the first orthopedic surgeon to see me, a very young one ) Two months after surgery I wouldn't have been able to come to work, the knee was quite a lot worse than I imagined it would be at that stage. It's been three months now and on Saturday was the first time the knee didn't bother me at all when I was walking my dogs. Then on Sunday I stepped into a hole, overextended my knee and now it isn't that good any more

Try searching on "bucket handle tear meniscus recovery." From a quick look, recovery takes as little as 4 weeks or could be 3-6 months depending on the actual surgery approach.

Have you checked Knee Guru? That is based in the UK.

https://kneeguru.co.uk

 

[altagirl]

I've had meniscus repairs done and was completely non weight bearing for 6 weeks. (And then a year after it was rehabbed, it tore again....) Very different from the partial menisectomies that I've had where I was weight bearing immediately. Lots of physical therapy prescribed for me though with either.

 

[newboots]

If it took the surgeon a few hours to come up with the post-op instructions, he may have been consulting with someone senior at another hospital. This would be a good practice. Nobody knows everything, and it's smart to check with another surgeon if there were aspects of it that were different, or unexpected, or even if he was just somewhat uncertain because it's new to him. I would ask a lot of questions in your post-op appointment, and shop around (if possible) for a physiotherapist who has some familiarity - even just a one-time consultation for your local therapist. A second opinion from a more specialized or experienced surgeon is not unreasonable, either.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I had an ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair at the same time. I heard from many people, including my doctor, that the MRI of a meniscus can be very misleading. Sometimes it looks bad, then doesn't need much at all. Sometimes it looks fine until they get in there.

Post-op protocol seems to vary wildly by both procedure and doctor. Whether you're weight bearing, whether you're allowed to bend your knee, all of it. All of these surgeries are slightly different. My ACL repair required movement. My meniscus repair required limited range of motion. So I was given a very specific protocol in which my RoM was gradually increased, giving me the ability to work my knee without risking the delicate stitches.

Are you serious when you say you think this is the first repair this surgeon ever did, or were you just grumping?

 

[Skier31]

Protocol is different when you have ACL and meniscus repair done at same time.

I opted for two separate surgeries because of the differences.

Meniscus repairs can only be done in certain situations. Excisions are much more common.
It is inportant to know which surgery you actually had.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Protocol is different when you have ACL and meniscus repair done at same time.

I opted for two separate surgeries because of the differences.

Meniscus repairs can only be done in certain situations. Excisions are much more common.
It is inportant to know which surgery you actually had.

Mine turned out to be very minor - just 2-3 small stitches, and he said he wasn't really sure they were necessary because the meniscus was healing on its own already.

On the other hand, when I asked him how long it would take for the meniscus to heal fully, he just sort of shrugged. Years, I gather.

And on the third hand, I randomly was talking to someone today who said that a recent double blind study suggests that surgery does not actually have an impact on outcomes.

How common is it to get meniscus surgery when it's the only issue?

 

[pinto]

Mine turned out to be very minor - just 2-3 small stitches, and he said he wasn't really sure they were necessary because the meniscus was healing on its own already.

On the other hand, when I asked him how long it would take for the meniscus to heal fully, he just sort of shrugged. Years, I gather.

And on the third hand, I randomly was talking to someone today who said that a recent double blind study suggests that surgery does not actually have an impact on outcomes.

How common is it to get meniscus surgery when it's the only issue?

My son has had two meniscus-only surgeries in the past 4 years. I also had one done when it was the only issue, but that was almost 20 years ago. It used to be that they just cut out the bad part as a matter of course, but I believe things have changed and unless it's really bugging you or susceptible to further tearing, they will leave it alone now.

My son waited and rehabbed on both, but it was a problem for him to do anything. The repair was done in the first one; when they went back in to do the second, the repair had held (that was my worry) but it was just a different injury. He was nwb on crutches for 6 weeks, I think, after the repair. My husband also had a repair, about 12 years ago.

So yeah, in my family, four meniscus-only surgeries.

 

[bounceswoosh]

My son has had two meniscus-only surgeries in the past 4 years. I also had one done when it was the only issue, but that was almost 20 years ago. It used to be that they just cut out the bad part as a matter of course, but I believe things have changed and unless it's really bugging you or susceptible to further tearing, they will leave it alone now.

My son waited and rehabbed on both, but it was a problem for him to do anything. The repair was done in the first one; when they went back in to do the second, the repair had held (that was my worry) but it was just a different injury. He was nwb on crutches for 6 weeks, I think, after the repair. My husband also had a repair, about 12 years ago.

So yeah, in my family, four meniscus-only surgeries.

Yikes.

Unrelated note, I just donated the knee scooter I'd bought for my foot surgery. Still in the original packing. The ACL surgery happened the week I was going to get foot surgery, and after that mess, I don't see myself choosing to go through an elective surgery like that.

 

[COchick]

Another meniscus repair victim here... I was non-load bearing for 6 weeks (poor DH), partial for another 4 weeks. Intensive PT and didn't feel "right" for probably 6 months. I have a feeling I'll have to have another surgery on that knee after this season, and will opt for excision (though I doubt another repair would even be viable) due to shorter recovery period.

 

[Obrules15]

Mine turned out to be very minor - just 2-3 small stitches, and he said he wasn't really sure they were necessary because the meniscus was healing on its own already.

On the other hand, when I asked him how long it would take for the meniscus to heal fully, he just sort of shrugged. Years, I gather.

And on the third hand, I randomly was talking to someone today who said that a recent double blind study suggests that surgery does not actually have an impact on outcomes.

How common is it to get meniscus surgery when it's the only issue?

The study looks at debridement (cleaning) and excision, not repair, and the outcomes are no better than aggressive PT over time.

The issue with the meniscus is that it has no blood supply so no healing factors or access to them in the normal course. Some people are looking at what happens to a meniscus when blood is injected into it (I had that) and platelet rich plasma injections and growth factor, trying to deal with the problem of lack of blood supply when it comes to the healing process.

 

[marzNC]

The issue with the meniscus is that it has no blood supply so no healing factors or access to them in the normal course. Some people are looking at what happens to a meniscus when blood is injected into it (I had that) and platelet rich plasma injections and growth factor, trying to deal with the problem of lack of blood supply when it comes to the healing process.

What my orthopedic surgeon told me was that the tiny hole in my meniscus was in the red-red zone (on the outer edge) so would have enough blood supply to heal without medical intervention. In my case, the tear was collateral damage from rupturing an ACL. He wouldn't give a timeframe for 100% healing. Based on my online research and how things felt, I think the meniscus was fully healed in 6 months. Perhaps a bit less but since I messed up the knee in June (not skiing), it was definitely before the ski season started. I found a range of 3 to 12 months for recovering from assorted types of meniscus injuries and various types of treatments.

 

[newboots]

@Obrules15 - My dog had surgery on his cornea, and the surgeon attached a "flap" with a blood supply right to it to promote healing. (She offered to remove it and I asked why - the only reason would be cosmetic! On my then 12-year-old Chihuahua pound pup!) He still has it - tiny red blood vessels on his eye, protecting him a bit from further infections.

I suppose if they could do this with the meniscus, they would.

 

[Obrules15]

@Obrules15 - My dog had surgery on his cornea, and the surgeon attached a "flap" with a blood supply right to it to promote healing. (She offered to remove it and I asked why - the only reason would be cosmetic! On my then 12-year-old Chihuahua pound pup!) He still has it - tiny red blood vessels on his eye, protecting him a bit from further infections.

I suppose if they could do this with the meniscus, they would.

This issue is that a flap has to be moved from an area of intact blood supply and sewn next to the tissue you want to have improved blood supply. Most meniscus tears that are at risk are more interior to the knee joint and further away from blood supply. So you could reroute a blood vessel to run along the outside of the knee which would only help the very outside of the meniscus, there's no way to get that inside the knee joint. It's why some people are looking at growth hormone and other compounds to induce blood vessel creation in tissues that normally have none. Instead of re-routing you force the body to create new.