Meniscus Issues

Bird's eye view normal meniscus

Meniscus tears are very common in the human knee. They can result in the need for: repair, partial removal or transplantation. See here for details about Meniscus Replacement or Meniscal Transplantation. For info about repairs or partial removal (meniscectomy) read on... Torn meniscal cartilage can be asymptomatic or severely painful and limiting. Just having a meniscus tear doesn't necessarily determine whether or not the treatment should include knee surgery or invasive care. The treatment decision for medial or lateral meniscus tears is based on several factors, including, but not limited to:

1. age of the tear, ie acute or chronic (blood supply, inflammation, cyst formation, etc.)
2. type of tear: oblique, horizontal, vertical, peripheral, undersurface, complex, radial, flap, bucket-handle, discoid, displaced, degenerative. etc.
3. location of the tear: posterior horn, anterior horn, middle third, inner zones, menisco capsular junction
4. age of the patient: younger ages do better with meniscus repair or meniscal repair
5. presence of other structural problems in the knee: Baker's cyst, plica, meniscal cyst, ACL tear, malalignment
6. presence of other medical diseases or issues: gout, pseudogout, arthritis, AVN avascular necrosis
7. physical demands, sports activities and patient expectations
8. previous treatments

Different types of meniscus tears	Blood supply for healing only at extreme edge	Inner edge tears don't heal (no blood supply)
Dissolvable meniscus sutures	Blood inside acts as a fibrin glue for healing	Vertical tear posterior horn

References

• A Great General Reference Powered by eOrthopod on Meniscus Injuries and Meniscus Surgery
• All about Meniscus Replacement or Meniscal Transplantation

Torn Meniscus Surgery, Meniscectomy or Menisus Repair Surgery Videos

meniscus tear on MRI

• Arthroscopic Surgery Meniscal Repair Video
• Arthroscopic Meniscectomy (trimming/removal) video (Youtube)
• Animation of Knee Cutaway with Meniscus View
• Animation of Meniscus Repair with Mitek PDS implant Arthroscopic Surgery Video

General Information about Meniscus Tears and Meniscus Surgery

MRI image of a torn medial meniscus

• Decent Overview
• Ortho Associates: Torn Meniscus
• Physician and Sports Medicine: Knee Meniscus
• Orthopedie (very good info. A little disorganized, though)
• Comprehensive Information from About.com
• Basic Info, somewhat plain. WebMD.
• Meniscus Repair and Transplantation