Summary OP inner meniscus | OP of an inner meniscus

Summary OP inner meniscus

A torn inner meniscus in younger people usually has to be treated surgically (by surgery). Due to the high daily stress on the knee joint, the inner meniscus does not heal itself. Every therapy is preceded by a diagnosis by means of knee joint endoscopy (arthroscopy).

This serves to assess the damage precisely and enables direct therapy. In order to make the inner meniscus functional again, it can be sutured, partially or completely removed. Suturing the meniscus is only possible in the case of special forms of injury and requires a relatively long period of follow-up treatment.

If the meniscus is partially removed, the knee joint can already be loaded again on the day of the operation. However, there is a risk of knee joint arthrosis, as the inner meniscus has lost some of its ability to slide. In case of a complete removal of the inner meniscus (meniscectomy), it must be replaced by an artificial or biological meniscus (usually in the same operation, sometimes in a second operation).

If this does not happen, massive cartilage damage and knee joint arthrosis develop within a short time, making the implantation of an artificial knee joint necessary. Data on the transplantation of a synthetic meniscus replacement (artificial meniscus) are not yet available. However, the chances of success after the use of a biological or human meniscus transplant are very good. In this case, too, a long post-treatment period and a break from sports must be planned.