Operations on the meniscus

General information

Most often, surgery is performed in the area of the meniscus due to a torn meniscus. In principle, there are two different possibilities to treat this severe meniscus injury: To restore the meniscus, the tear or other injury should not be too large and should be in the area close to the edge, since this part of the cartilage disc is still supplied by vessels and can therefore usually heal well after an operation. The repair is carried out either with the help of

  • Either you repair the damage or
  • The damaged part of the meniscus is removed and may be replaced by an implant.
  • Screws,
  • Special pens or
  • Arrows, sometimes the place can be simply sewn.

Repair should always be attempted first.

However, if this is not possible, a larger operation must be performed. If a part of the meniscus is actually torn off, it must be removed. Depending on the type of damage, a small piece may be partially removed, in severe cases the entire meniscus may have to be removed.

Depending on the size of the removed piece and how the functionality of the knee joint remaining after the surgical procedure is assessed, it may be necessary to insert an implant. This implant typically consists of collagen. In extreme cases, there is also the possibility of a meniscus transplantation, which is particularly suitable for younger patients.

However, the benefits of this have not yet been fully clarified. Some people still have doubts about a long-term improvement of the condition in terms of cartilage wear. How quickly an affected person can be fully fit for work after an operation depends largely on the individual case.

As a rule, it is assumed that for about

  • Three weeks wearing crutches and one
  • Physiotherapy should be carried out consistently after the patient has recovered from
  • One week completely spared.

Afterwards, however, depending on the strain, some of them are still unable to return to their jobs completely. However, if only parts of the meniscus have been removed, it may even be possible to stand on your feet again on the same day. In general, after a meniscus operation, it can be assumed that the damage is completely healed and the function of the knee joint can be restored.

Therefore, you will be able to return to your normal sports activities at some point in time. However, how long this will take in a particular case is sometimes not easy to estimate in advance. Other clinical pictures that may make surgery on the meniscus necessary are, for example These are operated on from the knee joint in order not to endanger the function of the knee joint in the long term.

  • Cysts (cavities filled with liquid) or
  • Tumors (not only malignant ones, but generally any kind of swelling, including lipomas, which ultimately represent only a local accumulation of fatty tissue).