Meniscus Repair Surgery in Surat

What the meniscus does

Each knee has two menisci, one on the inner side and one on the outer. They spread load across the joint, absorb shock, and help the knee stay stable. Remove one entirely and the pressure passing through that side of the knee rises sharply — which is why total removal, common decades ago, is now avoided wherever possible.

The critical fact about the meniscus is that only its outer third has a good blood supply. Tears there can heal if stitched. Tears in the inner two-thirds have almost no blood supply and will not heal no matter how neatly they are repaired. That single anatomical fact drives the whole treatment decision.

How tears happen

• Traumatic tears — twisting on a bent, loaded knee. Typically in younger, active people, often alongside an ACL injury.
• Degenerate tears — the meniscus becomes brittle with age and splits with a minor movement such as squatting or standing from the floor. Common past forty.

These two are treated quite differently, which is why the distinction matters. A degenerate tear in an arthritic knee usually responds better to physiotherapy than to surgery, and operating on it often disappoints the patient.

Symptoms

• Pain localised to the joint line, on the inner or outer side
• Swelling that develops over a day rather than within minutes
• Catching or a sense of something moving inside the knee
• Locking — the knee sticking and refusing to straighten fully
• Pain on squatting, twisting or getting out of a car
• A knee that feels unreliable on stairs

A truly locked knee that will not straighten is the one presentation that should be seen quickly, since a displaced fragment is trapped in the joint.

Repair or trim?

Repair asks more of the patient in the short term and gives the knee more protection in the long term. Where the tear pattern allows it, that trade is usually worth making in a younger patient.

Frequently asked questions