Quote:
Originally Posted by ollinger
The past few years have seen studies like the highly regarded "MeTeOR" (meniscus tear in osteoarthritis) study (multi center study at top institutions such as Mayo Clinic, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Hospital for Special Surgery, and 3 or 4 others) examining this issue. The emerging consensus seems to be that meniscus surgery in the presence of arthritis does nothing to alter the course of the problem.
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My understanding is that meniscus tears tears caused by sudden injury are amenable to arthroscopic surgical repair, because the rest of the meniscus is otherwise healthy.
Whereas "wear and tear" meniscus tears are not surgically repairable. (I guess because the entire meniscus is worn down and repairing a specific tear will not help much?)
But I am not sure which case my meniscus tear falls into.
The MRI report says "
mild narrowing of knee joint spaces and altered cartilage signal intensity."
My understanding is that the MRI cannot definitively see the extent of meniscus damage and is inferred by the narrowing of space between the femur and tibia.
The doctor I consulted said one option was to do "exploratory arthroscopic surgery", he would take a look inside, clean out and try to repair.
So is it possible that my entire meniscus is not severely damaged and I can benefit from having the specific tear surgically repaired?