Meniscus :
Just left the OS and he said this about my Meniscu - - Posted by Bigdog (Bigdog), 7 January 2005
Background - 34 yo basketball player who had acl repair and small meniscus removal 2 years ago (OS removed the torn portion of the meniscus). Initially had no problems but developed weight bearing pain near the location of the meniscus removal and slight swelling noticeable on the outside of knee.
RX - Bextra 10mg - the pain was much more manageable
Incident - Few days ago dribbled down the court and changed directions to avoid defender. I had immediate and acute pain in the knee. It felt like my bones had touched.
OS visit - MRI showed "Diminished height of lateral meniscus......vertical truncation of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus.....medial meniscus intact......bone bruise versus small osteochondral lesion involving the posterolateral femoral condyle." OS said take cortisone shot, synvis injections, or allow him to look inside the knee to see what the problems are. OS said i can continue to play sports as long as i can take the pain.
Questions - how much of my meniscus can i loose and continue to play basketball or sports (about what %)? If i get more of the meniscus removed should i anticipate more problems later. Is this area of the meniscus repairable? Someone please put in simple terms what the
MRI indicates.
Posted by pegleg78 (pegleg78), 7 January 2005
If you are thinking of having it repaird it is much better to do it sooner than later because there is a higer chance of thr repair working when there is less time between injury and surgery.
It all depends on each person on how much of it you can loose adn play sports, some people do okay, but I had a lot of probems with pain after my menisectomy so I ended up having a meniscus transplant so I could return to my previous level of activity.
Good luck
Posted by Bigdog (Bigdog), 7 January 2005
What are the options for the transplant?
Posted by sienna (sienna), 8 January 2005
When you have some meniscus removed, it is much easier for the joint spaces to narrow as there is nothing stopping them.
It sounds like your two bones did touch when you maneouvered quickly and this what the bone bruise is from.
If you have damaged more meniscus, it probably won't be repairable as you have probably shredded it with the forces generated from such a high impact and twisting game like basketball. (This is my un medical opinion as I am no doctor but I used to play netball so the forces are similar).
If I were you I would be trying the synvisc shots to see if it works. Also, you should go and see a pt to get some knee strengthening exercises to help keep the gap in your joint. An unloader brace may also help.
In terms of the meniscus, if it is torn then it needs to be cleaned up so that it doesn't interfere with the mechanics of your joint. Did the os have any idea how much of the mensicus is damaged?
You may wish to try the injections as they will help with the pain. But if the meniscus is torn then it needs to be fixed.
Ask a few more questions of your os like how much is torn, does he think it's repairable versus removeable (I gave my opinion on this), if he scopes it what else does he think he will find?
Good luck with this.
Posted by Bigdog (Bigdog), 8 January 2005
Thanks for the advice. I will talk the OS Monday about the synvisc injections.
Posted by pegleg78 (pegleg78), 10 January 2005
I did the synvisc injections, but did not get much relief from them. I have a really close friend who had great sucess for about 2 years and just had her second round of shots.
Updated Sun Sep 7 2008