Meniscus :

Meniscus injuries and MRI - - Posted by 5FeKOBS (5FeKOBS), 18 November 2004

Hi! I was wondering about people's experiences of the MRI showing or not showing their meniscus injuries. I had an MRI that didn't show any tears, even though I'm still symptomatic (locking and pain). My doc said that sometimes the tears don't show up on the MRI and only the arthroscopy can make the diagnosis certain.

Any input/experiences? Just wondering if anyone has had a tear not show up on the MRI, but confirmed it through the scope.

Thanks so much!
Posted by hmaxwell (Heather M.), 18 November 2004

MRI's are not exact, and your doctor has to treat you as a patient, not a radiologist's report!

My first MRI showed a torn lateral and medial meniscus.  On artrhroscopy I had a torn LATERAL meniscus with a large cyst.  Medial meniscus was fine.

Subsequent MRI's on the same knee showed 'no problems' but when I had a scope the OS found boatloads of issues that nearly crippled me....

Be glad your OS is willing to work with you rather than telling you the MRI is fine and sending you on your way.  It is likely if you are experiencing locking that you do have a meniscal issue that needs to be taken care of.  When in doubt, get a second opinion--always a good idea when surgery is recommended anyway.

Heather

PS Explore this link about MRI's:
http://www.kneehippain.com/patient/mri/mri.html
http://www.kneehippain.com/patient/mri/mri_fool.html
http://www.kneehippain.com/patient/mri/xray.html

Posted by kporterjud (kporterjud), 19 November 2004

It seems to be not that unusual for MRIs to show false negatives. On the outer edge of the meniscii is an area (menisco-capsular region) that for some reason can conceal a menisco- capsular tear from an MRI scan. When I went for my post-MRI consult, my OS told me that he did a scope that day on a woman whose MRI was negative, even though she was symptomatic. He wound up having to perform a meniscal repair during the procedure.
Posted by sivyaleah (sivyaleah), 19 November 2004

My first MRI, a couple of years ago showed nothing.  My recent one in July showed the medial tear.  Whether it had gotten bad enough in 2 years to finally show is unknown - however, glad at least to have found the problem which had given me all that pain and now, to have had it taken care of    Surgery was 11/5, currently going thru PE and grateful for it LOL

Laurie
Posted by doglady606 (doglady606), 21 November 2004

My MRI did not show the 2 meniscus tears in the medial compartment.  During the scope surgery, the OS could see them.  My MRI came back as "inconclusive", but during the exam, it was very painful when the OS manipulated the knee.
Posted by sweetheart0517 (sweetheart0517), 3 December 2004

You guys sound just like me!!!!!! My mri report showed nothing of a tear but the OS saw a tilt in my knee cap....i have all the syptoms of a tear and my Pt is really concerned considering I fell today trying to stand when my knee locked up...he said hes gonna send me to the OS with a report about whats going on and I am just wondering if he is going to say what he thinks is wrong....
Posted by hockeydad (hockeydad), 9 December 2004

My nine year old son had his MRI and three doctors said ruptured ACL and that's it.  No mention of meniscus damage.  Fourth doc said that the MRI showed evidence of meniscus tear.  We went with the fourth doc and he sutured the meniscus tear that actually did exist.  I don't know, maybe some doctors can't read them as well as others.  
Posted by bwalling (bwalling), 9 December 2004

on 12/09/04 at 00:13:25, hockeydad wrote:

This old Forum was so valuable that we have kept it as an archive. It is just for reference. If you want to ask questions or offer advice, there is also a current Bulletin Board which you can access from our home page.

Hunting for information is a slow process. browsing through these topics will probably raise a lot of questions in your mind. Don't forget that there is a whole site behind these forums - just click the 'KNEEguru' home button at the top left of your page when you are ready to access it.