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Torn Meniscus

MFI
Well I have been having knee problems for 2 months now and finally after trying physical therapy and everything else I convinced them to give me a MRI .. well low and behold they found I have a torn meniscus. I will have arthroscopic surgery after hunting season here in New York .Anyone here have one of these and how long to recover ? How do they actually fix this ? Im 43 if that matters .
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12 comments

Date Votes
  • MFI
    Had arthroscopic surgery late Wed afternoon. Doc said I had a complete tear. Im in quite a bit of pain although Vicodin is helping. They have me scheduled for therapy today already and I dont feel like I can move this thing. Did you guys have therapy so soon after having this ?
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  • allen griggs
    My mom is 79. She just had that same surgery two weeks ago. Now she is up and walking 2 miles a day.
    No stitches, outpatient surgery. She had a lot of pain for two days. She got a big bottle of 40 Vicodin and gave 34 of them to me.
    Really unbelievable how little trouble and pain involved with this arthroscopic surgery.
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  • garanch
    Recovery time is fast. (you should be walking on it the next day). Pain free within a week. They will repair the cartlidge if it can be, but if it is "feathered" they will remove that portion. But of all knee surgeries, this is the one to have if you have to have any at all.
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  • MFI
    Actually the "good" knee aches more than the bad one ..
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  • Rickstir
    I've had it twice. The other one was replaced last December. The new doesn't bother me at all, the reparied one is starting to talk back. Might have to get it replaced too.
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  • Permanently deleted user
    Two of my arthroscopic surgeries on my knees were done early in the morning and I was walking that same afternoon!

    Alot will depend if it is an inner or outer meniscus.

    The inner ones seem to be worse! But that may be because my outers were removed before the inners.

    I now have little to no cartlage in either of my knees.
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  • Wolf.
    --
    -Orthoscopic surgery, while pretty routine, is still amazing to me.

    I have a friend who had a serious back problem. He was due to go overseas (Paris, poor sob) for a two-year stint for his company. Everything paid. Family to go with him. Part of the deal was a promotion, raise, plus foreign duty pay. The back problem was making that whole scenario pretty iffy.

    I think he had his back operated on at Stanford in San Francisco. Anyway, instead of major surgery, they made a cut about a half inch long in his back and went in with this miniature War of the Worlds gadget with a light, suction device, camera, nippers, saline water blaster, etc. They nipped out the offending disc material, cauterized, washed it all down and sucked out the chunks. The whole thing took less than an hour. They slapped a bandaide on the little hole and sent him home a few hours later. Three days later he was fine and barely noticed the operation. Pain was gone, etc. He could work and travel, but had to take it easy with his back for about two or three months.

    So, that type of surgery is pretty amazing to me.
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  • iceracerx
    I just had a tear repaired Wednesday. As my Ortho said, "the tool is the size of a BIC pen, so recovery will be quick". Uh huh, our knees weren't designed to have BIC pens stuck in them! The good news is that I'm walking on it. But of course, I was feeling much better the afternoon of the surgery. Then the drugs wore off! Typical recovery period is 4 to 6 weeks for a repaired "extrusion". As GRD said, "inners" take a bit longer and are a bit more painful.
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  • Rockmup
    I had my inner and outer done as well as clean up of the knee cap in August. I was walking on it that night and back to full duty in 4 week total. Prolly took another two weeks to be 100%. I'm 44 and fat but rollin right along. I'm fixin to have the other one done real soon.

    Good luck
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  • iluvguns
    Had my right knee done in 89. No problem. Had the procedure that morning and that afternoon climbed on the mower and cut the grass. [:D] I wouldn't recommend that, but it worked for me! Took about 3 weeks for the pain to totally leave and for the knee to feel "normal" again. All I have are 4 little scars. Good luck! You will do fine!!
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  • v35
    Had the right one done two years ago following years of on again, off again knee brace use. Besides trimming a torn meniscus they fished out over 20 loose pieces of debris. The leg was stiff for a week or so but I needed no painkillers. It's been fine since.
    The left knee was done a few months ago. It had given no symptoms
    till recently. This one needed some light painkillers for a week and I got PT for it.
    Years ago I hit a high curb, head on, with a motorcycle and bent the handlebars with my knees going over the top. That may have done the damage.
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  • fishkiller41
    I had a shattered patella and torn meniscus, from a wreck, back in '86.
    I was the first person to have an arthroscope surgery, in Wellington Hospital.It took me a bit longer than 2 days to recoop. tho.
    And i was given 80 "REDS", with 1 refill!![:p]I didn't give ANY of them away either..I had to wait 6 weeks, for my knee-cap to heal into 1 piece.(it was in 5 pieces when the wreck occured)
    I hit a lady in a Buick station-wagon,that ran a light in front of my '66 beetle, with 1971 Porsche 911 Engine/transaxel assy.
    The eliptical key,in-the-dash, was in-my-knee![xx(]Broke-off.


    Jeff
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