Medial meniscus transplant questions

[JuhaH]

Hi there,

I'm 35- years old athlete and I broke my meniscus in skiing accident in january 2010. 2 weeks after accident I wen't to menisectomy and ortopedist took about 85% away from my medial meniscus. After menisectomy I have had lot's of pain and my knee is swollen even from light exercise. I'm also scared about arthritis in my knee. Because of the pain I had to stop windsurfing, track and field, mountain biking, skiing, jogging and I miss very much all those.  At the present I'm swimming, water running, light biking and gym. I feel that without meniscus I have not been able to live my life fully.

I have to try and find some solution how to fix my knee. Next month I'm going to see orthopaedic and talk with him about medial meniscus transplant. I have couple of questions about transplant surgery:

- What is average prediction how long meniscus transplant lasts after surgery?
- Is transplanted meniscus weaker than original?
- What if meniscus transplant surgery isn't successful and something unexpected happens? Is orthopaedic going to take transplanted menicus out and is it going to make my knee even worst    and accelerating artheris? 
- What other unexpected risks can occur in meniscus transplant surgery?
- Is there something else I should consider and know about transplant surgery?

All information about transplant operation is highly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[hamster80]

JudaH,
I don't have first hand answers, but I am currently on a meniscus transplant waiting list and have asked at least one of these questions to my doctor. He tells me that 'some' patients have returned after 7 to 10 years and that the transplanted meniscus has 'worn out'. In other cases patients never experience complications in their lifetime. I am told there is not enough data to convince the medical community (and insurance community) that a meniscus transplant is effective to prevent arthritis. I guess you could say the jury is still out. My insurance company approved my case pretty rapidly so I am encouraged. I am 41 years old and used to be very active with tennis and skiing. You're other questions are good ones - I'm going to ask my doctor these questions next time I see him. Good luck.  Craig

[Aggiecatcher]

I'm coming up on three years post medial MT (in December).  Since one year out I started full sports.  Today, I play basketball, train MMA, and will ski at least 10 days this year.  My knee is by no means perfect, and I have something weird going on right now, but it's 90% better than before.  Gone is the daily aching pain, sleepless nights, etc.  I'm actually a double knee sufferer thanks to my former life as a baseball player, and my MT knee feels better than my recently meniscetomized other knee.  With all that said, the rehab is brutal, long, frustrating, and slow.  It was definitely worth it for me!  Free free to message me if you have individual questions.  I can give you my blog site in which I blogged about my surgery and recovery.

[JuhaH]

Hi guys,

I think it's essential question that how long transplanted meniscus usually lasts in operated knee after operation. I understand that meniscus transplant operation is very complex and it's hard to find perfectly suitable meniscus from cadaver. I'm bit confused what should I do. Many rethink my options between meniscus transplant or Actifit operation. My orthopaedic says that probably he could do me Actifit operation because I have some medial meniscus left.

My main problem is that meniscus transplant operation is here in Finland commonly rare operation. I have been trying to find orthopaedic who has done transplant surgery's and there's probably only one orthopaedic who is doing meniscus transplant operations. Orthopaedic Lauri Pasanen in hospital Dextra is most experienced transplant orthopaedic over here (http://www.dextra.fi/index-en.php). From what i know it is very important that orthopaedic has done as many as possible transplant surgery's to succeed. Right?

I'm bit confused what should I do with my knee. I'm now 9 months post meniscectomy and pain is present constantly. What should I do about in my situation?

Rich, you're blog about meniscus transplant surgery is good information. Thanks for sharing.

Here's some white papers. 'Meniscus Allograft: Meniscus Survival Statistics' is interesting.

[PTLady]

My daughter who is now 18 had her transplant almost 3 years ago. She is much better, but has not been able to go back to sports.  They do try to fit you the best they can but there is no perfect match.  She had alot of scar tissue and required a second surgery to clean all that out.  Things do go wrong. as in her case--she has a small tear.  We are trying to hold off for as long as we can before more surgery, in hopes that it will heal or scar down.  If not then she well need another transplant.  Too young for a knee replacement.  Her surgeon was VERY experienced--was on of the pioneers of this surgery.  Even here in the states there are only a handful of doctors that do this surgery.  Dr. Brian Cole of url]http://www.cartilagedoc.org/home.cfm[/url] is at Rush in Chicago--you can check out his studies for more info.

The new knee repalcement you are asking about are very good, IF measured correctly--this too needs to be done by someone who has experience in thsi type of prosthesis.  They tend to last upwards of 30+ yrs and because they are mor custom they have less biamechanical issues and you can be more active with them.

 There are some other options out there.  One of the promising new procedures includes injecting stem cells into the knee joint.  Results are very promising but it does take a bit longer to heal.  HOWEVER the pain is much less than the surgeries.

Good luck in whatevr you decide to do.

[JuhaH]

Thanks PTLady.
You're daughter is only 18 and she has to go trough all this? That makes me so sad  I hope that one day she's going to fine, pain free and able to go back to sports.

I'm still trying to find answers to all my questions about meniscus transplant before I make my decision. Questions are filling my and it's very hard to find orthopaedic who has lot of experience around meniscus transplant operations. I think Rene Verdonk in Belgium is very experienced and has done more than 200 transplant operations.

I'm still searching information and considering what should I do.