Anatomy-Lexicon

Operations on the meniscus

General

Most often, surgery is performed on the meniscus due to a tear in the meniscus.
In principle, there are two different ways to treat this severe meniscus injury:

Either you repair the damage or
the broken part of the meniscus is removed in order to then possibly replace it with an implant.

To restore the meniscus, the tear or other injury should not be too large and in the area close to the edge, since this part of the cartilage disc is still supplied by vessels and can usually heal well after an operation.

The repair is done either using

Screws,
special pens or
Arrows, sometimes the spot can simply be sewn.

Repair should always be attempted first. If this is not possible, however, a major operation must take place. If part of the meniscus is actually torn off, it must be removed; depending on the type of damage, it can result in a Partial distance of a small piece, in bad cases the entire Meniscus removed become. Depending on how big the removed piece is and how the remaining after the surgical procedure Functionality of Knee joint is assessed, it may be necessary to have one Implant to use.

This implant typically consists of Collagen. In extreme cases there is also the option of a Meniscus transplant to be carried out, which is particularly suitable for younger patients. However, the benefits of this have not yet been fully clarified. Some still doubt that the condition will improve in the long term with regard to the wear and tear of the Cartilage. How quickly an affected person is fully operational and able to work again after an operation depends to a large extent on the individual Fall off.

Usually it is assumed that for about

three weeks crutches worn and one
Physiotherapy should be done consistently after the patient is about
a week completely spared Has.

After this, however, depending on the workload, it is still not possible for some of them to fully return to their job. However, if only parts of the meniscus have been removed, in individual cases it may even be the case that you are back on your feet on the same day. In general, after a meniscus operation, one can assume that the damage will heal completely and that the function of the knee joint can be restored. That is why you will be able to return to your normal sporting activities at some point, but how long this will take in a special case is sometimes not easy to estimate in advance.

Other clinical pictures that can make an operation on the meniscus necessary are, for example

Cysts (Cavities that are filled with liquid) or
Tumors (not just malignant, but generally any type of swelling, too Lipomaswhich ultimately only represent a local accumulation of adipose tissue).

These are from the Knee joint operated out so as not to endanger the function of the knee joint in the long term.