Medial Maniscus tear repair via arthroscopy but PROBLEMS

[Scuzzy]

I had arthroscopic surgery to repair a tear in my left knee's medial maniscus 6 weeks ago.  It was done by a local bone and joint establishment.  I'm 66 years old but healthy, not overweight,  and active.  The doctor said after surgery that I'd be playing soccer in six weeks. But here it is six weeks later and I've already had 40 cc fluid removed form the joint with cortizone added back and the joint hurts like crazy if I'm on it for more than 30 minutes at a time.  Anyone out there have a direction for me to take in order to get better?  Thanks in advance.

[Ronxski]

To be clear , did you have a repair where they suture the torn piece back down . OR a trimming where the torn piece is removed? A repair is rarely done to anyone over 40.

If removed, how much of it was taken? Have you gone through PT for strengthening exercises?  Regardless, 6 weeks is a pretty short time frame to be running around and impacting that joint. Even for a younger person.

Did they say if you have any arthritis in the joint? Are you wearing any support on the knee?

I'd get a second opinion and back off on any hard exercise till you get more info. Ice that knee and elevate when you aren't on your feet in the mean time.

Let us know what you find out. Ron

[jathib]

I doubt you had a repair done. The recovery for that is much longer than six weeks and as the other poster said, it's usually only done on younger patients. Even then, it's a surgery that seems to fail quite often. More than likely they just removed torn bits of meniscus. Either way, your knee will never be the same. Some people bounce quickly and others do not. Many people have the surgery and within a year or two are having a knee replacement because the surgery just didn't work. There are no guarantees.

[redtoblack]

Well, I'm in my 20's and I had a medial meniscus trim back in November and I'm still having problems.  If you are really concerned that there might be something wrong, please get a second opinion.  Also, if you aren't in physical therapy, get in it.  It can make a huge difference in the recovery time.

I wish you the best of luck!!

Jordan

[Scuzzy]

Thanks to all who responded.  The surgery was to trim only.  Before the MRI and consequent surgery my problem was diagnosed by the same surgeon as arthritis and had had several cortizone injections over three or four years, but the surgery pretty well eliminated that as being a significant problem.  I do not know exactly what kind of tear I had.  I asked the surgeon if the tears (there were two)  were old or new tissue.  He said, "Both."  You might guess that I'm not happy with the surgeon but I'm determined to make the best recovery that I can.  I will seek a second opinion in a few weeks if there is not improvement.  Perhaps something can be done.  thanks again.

[Scuzzy]

Oops, I forgot to respond to Ronxski.....   I do not know how much tissue was taken.  I was led to believe this was much like trimming ones nails.  I had the surgery on friday and I went back to work on the next monday.  My job does not require manual labor.  The joint felt good for a week or so.  I did not wear a brace and have had no PT.  The doctor did say that he removed some tissue that was supposed to have gone away right after I was born but in my case it stayed within the joint.   

[jathib]

This is not your surgeon's fault. Part of the cushion has been removed from your knee so the likelihood of you ever being pain free is pretty low, especially since you already have arthritis. Removing pieces of meniscus does not eliminate arthritis. The hope is that it will lessen the amount of irritation in your knee. There's only so much you can do with a torn meniscus. Any other surgeon would have done the same procedure. There is no guarantee that any surgery will work.

That being said, it's up to you now to get your knee as strong as possible. Sometimes that alone is enough to alleviate some pain. I tore my meniscus 35 years ago and was diagnosed with arthritis about 10 years later. I took up biking and swimming and kept my knee as strong and mobile as possible. While I wouldn't say I was pain free, it did take 34 years before the arthritis was bad enough for me to need a partial knee replacement. At the age of 66 recovery is going to be a lot harder and it may be as good as it's gonna get.

[redtoblack]

Oops, I forgot to respond to Ronxski..... I do not know how much tissue was taken. I was led to believe this was much like trimming ones nails. I had the surgery on friday and I went back to work on the next monday. My job does not require manual labor. The joint felt good for a week or so. I did not wear a brace and have had no PT. The doctor did say that he removed some tissue that was supposed to have gone away right after I was born but in my case it stayed within the joint.

I think the tissue you are referring to is plica.  I also had a plica resection during my meniscus surgery.  Like jathib said, you will probably never be pain free, but you should see some improvement.  I still suggest seeing a physical therapist.  If you can strengthen the muscles in your leg, it will put less stress on your knee and should be a big help with the pain.  When you go for your second opinion, please ask about physical therapy.

Best of luck to you!

Jordan