Meniscal Repair

Do you always need meniscal repair surgery? What happens during surgery on your meniscus?

Does a torn meniscus always require surgery?

No. Depending on the patient and the tear, symptoms may improve with time. Even if they don’t, it may be possible to live with a small tear without any significant effects.

Where problems persist, however, knee surgery may be your best option.

>   Explore non-surgical treatments for a meniscal tear here

What does meniscal tear surgery involve?

Alex treats most meniscal tears that require surgery using knee arthroscopy. You might know this better as ‘keyhole surgery’. It’s a process that requires a small incision in the knee, into which a tiny tool call an arthroscope is inserted.

The arthroscope has a camera and light at its end that enables Alex to see the damage. Depending on the extent of the damage he may then use additional tools to carry out either…

  • A meniscal repair – a stitching together of the meniscus to enable it to heal; or
  • A partial meniscectomy – in which Alex trims the loose fragments of torn meniscus so they can’t cause locking and pain

How long does it take to recover from meniscal repair surgery?

The treatment itself only takes around half an hour. You will usually be treated as an outpatient, so you shouldn’t need an overnight stay unless there are other issues.

After surgery at Alex’s Cheltenham knee clinic, you will need pain relief and you’ll need to follow the RICE method of rest, ice, compression and elevation.

You may benefit from crutches (initially, at least), physiotherapy and sometimes a knee brace.

You should be able to return to low impact activities within six to eight weeks. You may need extra recovery time before returning to high impact activities such as sport or a job that’s demanding on the knees.

Meniscus repair in Cheltenham, Gloucester and the Cotswolds

If you suspect you may have damaged your meniscus, book your appointment with Alex now.

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Appointments

To make an appointment please either fill in the contact form and you will be called back by our secretary to arrange a convenient appointment time or get in touch directly.

Call Chrissie Holmyard 01242 246549 at Nuffield Health, Cheltenham.