So after my MRI and consulting with my Dr and the Ortho, I’m going forward with a surgery to trim a torn meniscus in my knee. Should be a relatively minor surgery, the doc says I will be walking out of the hospital that day, riding a bike in a week, elliptical machine in two weeks, running in three.
But I’ve never had surgery before (I’m 51) and am looking for advice or opinions on what I should be doing or avoiding. My wife has had multiple knee surgeries (including a replaced ACL) so she’s been a great help but any advice is welcome.
My first response: don’t do it. My wife had it done, and it was followed by 2 additional surgeries to fix “other” problems that arose. She still has knee pain as bad or worse as it was before the first surgery.
Check out the statistics for satisfaction of people having meniscus surgery. Satisfaction rates are very low, if I recall. With a quick Google search, check out this article.
Just Google “meniscus surgery satisfaction” and wade through the links. You’ll see a lot of other sources questioning meniscus surgery.
Yes, this is just anecdotal, but: most of the people I know who’ve had meniscus surgery have not been satisfied with it. I’m sure this doesn’t apply to you yet, but most of the people I know who have had knee replacement surgery have been very happy with the results.
My advice: don’t rush in to this. Give yourself time to do some research. Even though this is “very minor” surgery, there is a real question whether this type of surgery helps or hurts.
J.
I don’t have degenerative meniscus tears; have a trauma tear. Nearly all my friends who’ve had arthroscopic surgery on tears (and there are lots, I hang out with skiers, climbers, bikers, and ultra runners) have been very successful. While I appreciate the concern, I’m not sure the study applies to me.
Right now I’m in pain and can’t run or hike; two of my favorite pastimes. I will do more research buy my initial research doesn’t match yours. If you have more specific studies I’d be glad to read them.
Am I your wife? Probably not, since I’m a man, but I’ve got a similar surgery record - one ACL reconstruction and meniscus scopes on both knees - all trauma repairs. My first meniscus scope was awesome - I literally walked away that day and I didn’t even need any pain meds. The recovery was much like the timeline you described, and I was back to normal activity pretty quickly. The difference was incredible.
The second one was successful, but it took a lot longer for me to reach that conclusion. This time, I put off surgery for a long time - long enough to gain 20 pounds that really didn’t help the recovery time. With the extra weight, I was both less inclined and less able to exercise the knee and get it back into shape, and I felt every extra ounce. My recommendation: don’t do it this way! Once you decide that you’re going to have the surgery, get it done as soon as you can and get right back to working it.
When I was 26, I was diagnosed with a bucket handle tear of the meniscus. I was told that my knee would lock up, become arthritic, and I don’t remember what else if I didn’t have the scope surgery. I didn’t do it, and that’s been more than a few years ago. I’ve had 0 problems with that knee. YMMV.