Your menisci are paired, crescent-shaped pieces of cartilage that sit between your femur and tibia and cushion your knee joint. You can tear a meniscus if you twist your knee or experience a direct knee injury. Physicians commonly repair a torn meniscus with the aid of a device called an arthroscope. The total rehabilitation time following an arthroscopic meniscus surgery varies from person to person.
Arthroscopic Surgery
An arthroscope is a pencil-sized instrument with a tiny camera mounted on its tip. During arthroscopy, your surgeon will make a small incision in your knee and insert the arthroscope into the joint's interior. He will then use an external monitor to view the signal from the arthroscope and examine your torn meniscus. After determining the extent and nature of the damage, he will use a second small incision to insert specialized surgical instruments into your knee joint and either repair or remove the torn piece of cartilage.
Rehabilitation Time
Arthroscopy is a modern procedure that causes relatively minimal disruption to your skin and injury site. For this reason, you will typically recover from an arthroscopic procedure faster than you would from a conventional open surgery, which requires much larger surgical incisions. In many cases, people who undergo arthroscopy are able to return home on the same day as their surgery.
However, your knee won't heal in one day, and it may take weeks or months for you to regain the full use of your knee joint. Factors affecting recovery time include the extent of your meniscus damage and the steps your surgeon takes to repair this damage.
Rehabilitation Steps
Common early steps in recovery from arthroscopic surgery include elevation and icing of your affected knee, temporary use of pain medications, temporary use of crutches and detailed instructions on how to keep your surgery site clean and dry.
As your surgery site heals, your doctor will also ask you to perform exercises designed to restore your normal range of motion and strengthen the quadriceps muscles located just above your knee joint. Some people can perform these exercises at home, while others need the help of a physical therapist.
Considerations
The average patient recovers fully from arthroscopic meniscus surgery in anywhere from one to two months, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine and University of Washington Medicine. Please note that some people recover much earlier, while others may take longer to heal, especially if their jobs require heavy lifting. In most cases, you will have no restrictions on your activities once your knee heals.
However, if you have a torn meniscus completely removed, your doctor may ask you to modify your daily routine so you can avoid the onset of knee arthritis. If you already have significant arthritic changes in your knee when you undergo meniscus surgery, you may also need to permanently modify your activities.
References
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; Meniscal Tears; February 2009
- MayoClinic: Torn Meniscus; Treatments and Drugs; February 2011
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; Knee Arthroscopy; March 2010
- University of Washington Medicine: Arthroscopic Meniscectomy
- Johns Hopkins Medicine: Patient Guide to Knee Arthroscopy
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