About Meniscus repair

This information is intended for general information only and should not be considered as medical advice on the part of Health-Tourism.com. Any decision on medical treatments, after-care or recovery should be done solely upon proper consultation and advice of a qualified physician.

A torn meniscus is one of the most common knee injuries. Any activity that causes you to forcefully twist or rotate your knee, especially when putting your full weight on it, can lead to a torn meniscus. The meniscus is a crescent-shaped disc of cartilage found between the bones of the knee (the femur and tibia). Each of your knees has two menisci — C-shaped pieces of cartilage that cushion the joint. A torn meniscus causes pain, swelling and stiffness. You also might feel a block to knee motion and have trouble extending your knee fully.          

Treatment for meniscus tears ranges from icing and pain medication to surgery, depending on your symptoms and the type of tear. If your knee remains painful despite rehabilitative therapy or if your knee locks, the surgery is recommended.

Meniscus surgical treatment may be performed on an outpatient basis or rarely as part of your stay in a hospital, the most common type of surgery for a meniscus tear is a partial meniscectomy. During this procedure, the surgeon will trim off the torn part of the meniscus, leaving behind as much of the intact meniscus tissue as possible. After surgery, you will need to do exercises to increase and maintain knee strength and stability.                                            

In some cases, the torn part of the meniscus may be stitched back together, depending on the type of tear and condition of the meniscus. In this case, recovery time is longer for this procedure than a partial meniscectomy. It is common for patients to be on crutches for about two weeks and in a brace for up to six weeks after surgery. It may be six months or more before it is safe to return to sports activities. Sometimes, is a damage to the articular cartilage, the smooth substance that covers the ends of the bones and keeps them from rubbing together as you move. Cartilage, or chondral, damage is known as a lesion and can range from a soft spot on the cartilage (Grade I lesion) or a small tear in the top layer to an extensive tear that extends all the way to the bone (Grade IV or "full-thickness" lesion).In these cases  we can added to the arthroscopic surgery the use of biologic therapies like hyaluronic acid, platelet-rich plasma injections (PRPs) or adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs).It is, therefore, of vital importance to have an expert in all of these type of treatments. Dr. Tabuenca and his team perform these interventions using arthroscopic surgery

Price

Total cost will also depend on the surgical approach, associated lesions and the use biologic therapies but normally form 6.500 euros.

Author: Dr. José Tabuenca Dumortier

Posted: 12 January 2021 at 07:17 UTC

Last Updated: 19 July 2021 at 16:59 UTC