Knee surgery...

[Magwitch]

My son is 38 and needs arthroscopic meniscus repair. He has a tear, per MRI, and is "leaking fluid" and his lower leg is swollen. They say three small incisions one for a camera, etc...

Anyone have experience with this? Recovery time, etc? I realize all cases are different, I ask if members have gone thru thus...

[Abdullah71601]

I had it done and the surgeon trashed my knee. There isn't anything bad about the procedure itself, but you need a good surgeon that will take the time to do it well. Research the surgeon well.

[superdog]

Not with this specifically.

However, please be sure he schedule a surgery in the am. Research proves far less mistakes than in the pm.

[BravoOne]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

I had it done and the surgeon trashed my knee. There isn't anything bad about the procedure itself, but you need a good surgeon that will take the time to do it well. Research the surgeon well.

I'll 2nd that. Waiting right now for a knee replacement. Probably April before I can get it. 50+ years of hard skiing has taken its toll. My knees are a lot worse than your sons and I have the scope done in the past. Down time is usually not more than a couple of days and then some supervised exercise.

[milov]

I did the left knee 30 years ago. The procedure went smoothly with a highly experienced Orthopedic Surgeon. My recovery was very quick. Normal weight baring in a few days. Normal use in about 2 months. Some people might be quicker depending on the size of the meniscal tear.

I also tore my right medial meniscus about 5 years ago. Recent research suggests that unless the tear is severely impacting the joint then the surgery may not be necessary. For the first year I had weekly or monthly bouts of locking that passed within a few hours. The second year these locks were much less frequent. By the third year I was treating it as normal.

I was lucky to avoid the second surgery. But I understand that it is necessary for some.

The trick is to shop around for an experienced surgeon. Try to find a surgeon who has worked with a lot professional football players. Because they tend to go to surgeons with the best track records.

Good luck.

[Rolex addict]

I had my left knee done about 20 years ago. It wasn't a bad tear, but every now then, my knee would lock up. Luckily, the surgery went well and the recovery was pretty quick. I was also in my early 20's which helped. Ask local athletes (runners, cyclists, triathletes, skiers, etc) who they recommend. They typically have the most experience getting patched up.

[datejustrms]

Not sure where your son lives but New England Baptist Hospital in Boston is one of the top orthopedic hospitals in the country. I hope all goes well for him.

nebh.org

[Blansky]

I play hockey a lot and have for 60 years. I’ve had 3 on my left knee and one a couple of months ago on my right.

Rarely with knee surgeries are you as good as new. But you need to weigh the pain before with the results after which is generally an improvement.

As for recovery, you start rehabbing a couple of days after surgery with a physical therapist to slowly get range of motion back and you ride a bike and walk to get the area back to normal. PT generally goes for a month to 6 weeks a couple of times a week. At the end of that time you may still have some pain but it mostly goes away and gradually over time it’s gone except can still be experienced while doing some sports.

The more dedicated you are to rehab the better your results. That goes with knee surgeries and with knee replacements.

[Art 1]

I had never it done and walked out of the place. Healed quickly. My Son had it done in high school and was back on the wrestling mat in one month. A buddy was a world ranked wrestler and a 2 time national champion in college. He was back on the mat in one week.

[James K]

I had the same procedure done 15 years ago along with an ACL reconstruction as well. The scars from the three holes are small, after about 7-8 years they were almost unrecognizable. Although they told me not to, I walked out of the hospital after the procedure, purely out of stubbornness. It took me a few months to feel normal although I don't think I was fully healed until about a year afterwards. I think I owe a lot of the recovery to choosing the right surgeon, NFL and NCAA used physicians have a lot of clients and have had a lot of practice.

[mbalmz]

I had this done a few years ago--best advice I can give in addition to what others are saying is in addition to researching the surgeon, do some research on really good physical therapists (a lot of them are pretty worthless but some are amazing) and consider seeing one BEFORE surgery to get their opinion on things, not just after. Particularly when injuries like this develop from wear (as opposed to a specific injury) there are movement/strengthening concerns to deal with in addition to fixing the actual tear and it's good to be aware of these before surgery.

[Wcdhtwn]

It’s routine surgery, significant to the injured but nothing that should be complicated or risky for a competent surgeon. Go to an orthopedic, best someone who specializes in knees. My advice is have your son do as much exercise and strength training as possible before the procedure, the stronger he is post op the faster his recovery will be. It doesn’t have to be lifting weights or running, basic movement with slight or no resistance and walking as much as possible will help.

I had my ACL reconstructed at age 16 and a cartilage tear fixed when I was in my mid 30’s. The approach to knees when I was 16 (31 years ago) was completely different than it is today. Back then it was immobility and rest to let the repairs heal. Today it’s motion and activity immediately after, so the stronger you are going in the better.


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[Jcgul]

Depending on the surgeon, your son is at an age where they will debate repairing the meniscus vs. doing a menisectomy (just shaving away the torn tissue rather than repairing using sutures or a small implant loaded with sutures to tack the meniscus back together/back to the capsule). Lots of surgeons only repair the Meniscus on younger patients, and with very specific tear patterns.

There’s not much blood flow to the meniscus, which leads to a lower capacity to heal. That’s why only certain tears, that are in vascular areas, can be repaired, rather than just shaved down. A menisectomy is not necessarily a bad thing, as some tears just simply cannot be fixed, and can cause mechanical issues in the knee, leading to locking, pulling, pain, etc., so they’re better off just excised.

I also second the sentiment of trying to make sure that he is booked for first case of the day, as the surgeons and staff are usually the freshest.

Make sure he is compliant with his rehab.

I’m in these cases every day. If you have any additional questions, feel free to shoot me a message.

[bdex75]

Wife had it done about a year ago.

Was told that it would be a quick trim of the tear and she would be good to go in a couple weeks. Once they got in the tear was more significant than they thought and they decided to repair the tears instead. Recovery was 3 months in a brace and on crutches. No full weight bearing.

She was not a happy camper. But has little to no problems now. So it was obviously worth the extra rehab and caution.


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[Magwitch]

Thanks to all for the kind comments! He is indeed going in the AM and we'll buy the surgeon not the operation, so to speak. I know there are a lot of variables in these matters. I had a BK amputation in 1991, so I have some experience in recoveries.