Almost any knee injury can initially be treated acutely with ice packs, rest, and immobilization. These simple measures will help to decrease swelling and pain in the joint.
Your physician can use information about how the injury occurred and physical examination tests to determine the likelihood of a meniscus tear. While x-rays are usually normal with an isolated meniscus tear, the MRI evaluation will often reveal abnormalities within the meniscus.
Is surgery necessary for meniscus tears?
The next step is to determine whether or not surgery is necessary for a meniscus tear. If an individual is not a good surgical candidate or if their meniscus tear symptoms are not significant, surgery can often be delayed or avoided altogether
Many people live normal lives despite having a meniscus tear. It is only when the meniscus tear becomes symptomatic, and interferes with activities, that surgery to treat the meniscus tear should be considered.
There are generally two surgical options for treating a meniscus tear:
- Meniscus Repair
A meniscus repair is a surgical procedure done to repair the damaged meniscus. This procedure can restore the normal anatomy of the knee, and has a better long-term prognosis when successful. However, the meniscus repair is a more significant surgery, the recovery is longer, and, because of limited blood supply to the meniscus, it is not always possible. - Meniscectomy
A meniscectomy is a procedure to remove the torn portion of the meniscus. This procedure is far more commonly performed than a meniscus repair. Most meniscus tears cannot be treated by a repair for a number of reasons. Often the tear is in an avascular region of the meniscus, and will not heal even if repaired. Some tears are frayed and cannot be sutured together. In these cases, the meniscectomy is done to remove the damaged portion of meniscus. The meniscectomy has a faster recovery, but it can lead to trouble years down the road because of the absence of the normal meniscus.
What is the prognosis after having sustained a meniscus tear (torn cartilage)?
With a meniscus tear (torn cartilage) in your knee, the shock absorbing capacity of the joint is threatened. Because of this, there is an increased risk of developing damage to the articular cartilage surface of the knee joint bones; this is commonly referred to as knee arthritis. Loss of the meniscus places more of a burden on the cartilage surfaces of the joint and they are more likely to develop arthritic changes. Therefore, any lifestyle changes to decrease your risk of developing arthritis can improve the prognosis after having sustained a meniscus tear. For example, weight loss, low-impact exercise, and prevention of further trauma to the joint will all improve the long-term prognosis.
If a meniscus repair is possible, the long-term prognosis, especially in younger patients, is improved due to restoration of the normal knee anatomy. However, as mentioned previously, a meniscus repair may not be possible in many patients with torn cartilage.
You can read more here http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/meniscusinjuries1/a/meniscus.htm
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