medial menuscus - how long

[chewymix]

So after knee pain for 2 years turns out i have a torn medial meniscus in my left knee and i'm going in 2 weeks from now to get it sorted. Functionally the knee is OK at the moment it just hurts on the inside of the knee to a greater or lesser degree pretty much all the time although there have been prolonged times over the last couple of years when i've hardly noticed it although i have not really tried much running on it.

What can i expect both from the OP and also from the recovery? The guy doing the OP is some surgeon who ski's himself and who also is not fussed if people ski on their false knees so hopefully he'll do me good.

any ideas as the thought of going under gives me the creeps

[F#*k you cat]

I also have a torn medial meniscus. ( 2001 ) Had what is called a bucket handle tear...very common along with a torn MCL. Had surgary in Jan 2001. Used to rehab...so I worked hard at it and was able to ski 60 days post op. Surgary is a snap...I have a small scar. However It will be sore as all get out for the first week or so. Take the pain meds, Ice, Rest etc. do as the doc says and get after the rehab..


PS over ten years later and I can still feel the weather in my knee... When low pressure rolls in.

CAT

[chewymix]

thanks - i hope i can get out of this gimp pit as its been 2 years since i was good to go, hey ho at least i am finally getting something done.

[LARRY01]

Your recovery time will depend on if they are doing a repair (sew it up) or if they are removing it. I just had meniscus repair and I had no weight bearing for 3 weeks and about 4 months before I could get back to sports. Follow the doctors instructions and hit the PT as much as possible. I had my surgery June 1st and expect to get cleared for skiing on my 6 month check up. Good luck!
Also x2 on feeling it in the knee with low pressure.

[chewymix]

well i got through the OP and the general was kinda sweet in a way, way better than i was expecting.

Seems the tear was frayed so they cut out the tear rather than attempting a repair, not sure how much they cut out but from they way the Ortho was talking it wasnt that much. I am reating it now and not on crutches but the knee is kinda sore and 'squelches' when i bend it i guess this is fluid they add during the OP or something.....

Apart from RICE and some basic ROM stuff is there anything else i should be doing? I am not currently on any pain meds although i have been given some if i need it. One thing i have noticed is that the front of the knee below the kneecap is numb to the touch, well i can feel it, but it just feels wierd. Is that normal and will that fade in time or is it something anyone else has experienced?

thanks

[biggsie]

chewymix - How long did they say you'll be off it? Sounds like everyone's varies.

I'm going in in the next week or two to get a similar repair. Sounds like the meniscus is "frayed". Ironically, I'm 99% sure it's an overuse injury related to being on crutches for 5 months a couple of years back.

Anyway, doc said I should expect crutches for 3 days, heavy PT after that and skiing after 3 weeks. Targeting skiing by Christmas.

[volklpowdermaniac]

I had my lateral done two years ago and feel my medial is going to shit right now.

Essentially the meniscus has two parts, a red zone, where there is blood flow, and a white zone where blood flow is limited (Someone correct me if wrong). Ironically, if it's in the tear is in the red zone, they try to repair it because the long term prognosis is much better, you need your meniscus in there as a cushion, and so repairing it lessens the chance of long term problems like arthritiis and what not. However, ironically again, repairing it, putting sutures in there and what not, takes you out of the game for a long time, as someone said, 3-4 months often. On the other hand, a tear in the white zone, is simply trimmed away, and they smooth out the remaining part of the meniscus. Some people can be out up to 6 weeks, but with agressive PT, which can start as soon as the swelling drops a little, some people can be up an active in 3 weeks. I was about 26 days from surgery to slopes. with PT 3 days a week, then worked back into groomers, and then very quickly the whole mountain. The only thing about the white zone tears is its a play now pay later as the doctor pretty much ensured me arthritis was in my future.

[chewymix]

can you remember how long the swelling took to go down. For me at the moment it seems like the fluid in the knee is the thing holding back the ROM and i know its only been 24hrs but i think the fluid is stuff they put in during the surgery rather than any natural fluid buildup. I guess it will drain naturally but its already starting to bug me.

[volklpowdermaniac]

try massaging your knee cap, up down around, helps keep everything moving and stops scar tissue from building up. that was always one of the first execercises at PT, and one she said to do every time I had the chance.

[chewymix]

biggsie, i am 24hrs in and have not been given crutches and never told to keep off it, just rest but also be active. I guess they want to keep everything moving as much as possible. I start PT next week so 7 or 8 days after the OP

I'll massage the knee as much as i can but it sounds like a swamp in there! i was a bit wiereded out at first massaging the knee as the lower half of the kneecap and into the top of the shin is numb, guess they cut some shit or something when they put the scope in.

[chewymix]

also biggsie cant really me see skiing 3 weeks from now, that said maybe the stiffness will subside quickly once some of the fluid goes away

[chewymix]

well 3 days since surgery and i feel i can walk a bit freeer but there is still pressure/pain behind the knee but its a constant thing when on my feet and not really related to movement, in falk walking a bit is perhaps better than standing still. Last night was the 3rd nights sleep post OP and there was significant pain in the medial side of the knee that kept me awake for an hour or so which nearly had me reaching for some codeine.

oh and the numbness seems to be fading, maybe thats why it hurts more

[chewymix]

so one week in and things are getting easier, i cam into work today which involves about three quarters of a mile walking all told and although not great walking this distance was not too bad. I cant do stairs very well yet but i have not worn the leg support sock thing today and so far swelling looks minimal. Its still a bit sore but much of that soreness seems to come from the front of my knee, i think they punch through your patella tendon to get into the knee, as thats quite bruised still.

i think i am focusing too much on the knee also as i felt a small snap/swang in there earlier today when just flexing me knee and this had me getting all tense and nervous that something had gone wrong but my 'good' knee makes far more noise and i dont even think about it. This is as much a mental battle as physical i think.

[chewymix]

So to those of you that had this surgery how long before you were good to go? I am 4 weeks out of surgery and things are 'different' now in that i still have a sore knee but there are other wierd things going on in the joint. Starters the clicking that i got post surgery when going up stairs is still with me but i have been told its due to muscle inbalance so a lot of my PT is based around getting the quad as a whole stronger and lots of focus on the VMO but no estim. The most wierd thing though is sometimes the knee will feel like its locking up, as though something is pinching or catching in the joint and i swear that on the medial side of the knee i can feel a band of something when this happens and then pop it goes back in and the band goes away. The Ortho, who by the way has a shitty bedside manner, said it was nothing and just bits and pieces floating around that will settle with time, i feel like he was blowing me off, but i am not so sure what it is. It feels like its on the joint line on the medial side of the knee but the OR report said that posterior horn was trimmed and i know the meniscal rim was intact post surgery, and this feel more to the front of the joint.

I am going to give it more time but any veterans tell me that clicks/pops and wierd locking, although it does not lock as such just stiffens a lot, is normal and will pass with time and PT. I am hitting the bike spinning a lot and also doing PT by the book and not babying anything so i dunno whats up.

Skiing in any major form feel a ways off yet.

[splat]

Are you bowlegged? They don't tell you that if you're bowlegged and they take out part the medial, it's much harder to recover because it throws the joint out of alignment.

[chewymix]

naaa not bow legged, well no-one has told me i am and i have seen enough PT's in my time.

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that the 'band' or something that i feel and can sort of see sometimes is actually some meniscus or something that he either missed during the surgery or has somehow come loose in the days post surgery, i first felt this band about 8 days post op, but the clicking from the medial side has been present since the surgery. Even though the Ortho claims olympians in his creds and is a sports guy i am thinking he fucked something up here thats meaning i'll need something else doing real soon.

sucks

[chewymix]

well i ended up getting another small trim, different ortho, as there was still a flap that was getting caught and he also cut back an inflammed fat pad. This was 2.5 weeks ago and the recovery so far has been rougher in that i still have some swelling but its above the knee in a sort of band which makes me think its some sort of pocket of fluid or something. I have decent ROM but the swelling does cause pain behind my knee when its flexed so i think i need to get rid of this to push my rehab. I am icing about 30 mins a day post spin bike but anyone got any other recommendations on how to reduce the swelling?

apparently apart from the medial meniscus the knee is 'pristine' and the ortho did talk of either scaffold inplant or meniscus transplant if the knee does not respond as expected but the recovery of that sounds pretty full on for a procedure thats not 100% although that said my current procedure has not been 100% as i still have pain and issues but maybe its early days.