Need some advice regarding my meniscus.

[ywy]

I had my  meniscus repaired in February to fix a bucket handle medial meniscus tear. Rehab was going fine and I finally achieved almost full range of motion again and swelling was all the way down. Yesterday I slipped on a patch of wet grass and my injured leg bent quickly behind me, like I kind of came down and sat on the back of my leg. It caused extreme pain that eventually got better, but at this point my knee has swollen pretty bad. Reading up on the forums it appears that it's likely I retore something. Has anyone else experienced retearing so soon after surgery. Depending on my options would you recommend getting it repaired again, or getting a meniscectomy and greatly reducing  the time I have to spend away from basketball. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

[vickster]

Assuming you are a young patient, the meniscus tissue is in good condition and a repair is possible (not guaranteed depending on what you've done), and based on what your surgeon finds, you would be better off getting it repaired. Menisectomy will open you up to a risk of arthritis. You have to use that knee for many decades to come, better to preserve the joint for as long as you can than go for an option which might enable you to return to sport more quickly but may reduce the lifespan of your bones.  Also once a meniscus has been trimmed, there is more risk of further tears, more risks of further removal and more risk of arthritis

Good luck