Torn Meniscus-surgery? or no?

[MXGirl230]

I tore the meniscus in my right knee back in September..in a street bike accident. I've had problems on and off with it. Over the past few weeks it has gotten worse. I haven't been able to walk very well on it, or for very long. Driving hurts, and walking up/down stairs hurts too. So I had an MRI to reveal a torn meniscus. The orthopedic doctor gave me a choice of letting it heal (it's already been 4months...) or surgery. He said with surgery recovery will be 4-6wks. I'm not sure if I should go with the surgery and be ready to ride in the spring. If I don't go with it, and for some reason it doesn't heal. I'll be strapped for time..I have my best friends wedding in May and then my own wedding in July. Then I'm moving out to Wyoming shortly after. If something has to be done, it has to be done now...
The tear isn't too bad, but bad enough that it causes a lot of pain. So my question is: Is it best to do the surgery and be done and over with it? Or wait it out and possibly have to do surgery in the summer before I get married?? Thanks ahead of time for any help.

 

[JJmxr]

I am suprised you doctor didn't want to fix it right away. Unless you are really young there is a very remote possibility that it will heal on its own. The area gets very little blood flow after you stop growing, and can't heal itself. You are asking for an arthritic knee it you let it get too much damage. Fix it now.

 

[hlinar]

JJ not all orthopaedists are knife happy. Most will try consertave treatment first, i e rest and see if it heals. then, if necesary , do a procedure.............

 

[darringer]

I would push to have it fixed immediately. My knee was never repaired properly and now I have arthritis problems that will never go away. After the surgery, you will recover very quickly. If it doesn't heal correctly, more problems will arrive later on. Please take care of it asap.

 

[kbob]

I would get the meniscus fixed. I ignored mine for two years and it just got worse. The next thing i knew in december it got realy bad and my knee locked. I went for an mri and found out ihad a torn acl as well. I had the acl repaired and they fixed the miniscus by shaving some of it and stiching a piece of it. do a search on the net and decide for your self but im glad i finaly got mine fixed, no pain what so ever now but hurt like hell when I came out of surgery but that was because of the acl repair.

 

[MXGirl230]

Well I decided to go with the surgery. The orthopedic doc. says it should get better, but it has been 4 months and has just gotten worse. He doesn't understand that I want to ride in the spring. As of right now I can't kick the bike over...so I decided to get it fixed and be done with it. I'm tired of waiting..Thanks a lot for the info.
I have another question though, how long will I be out of work? They are doing the orthoscopic (sp?) in two weeks. I thought the doc. said 4-6wks recovery. I have heard other people say 4-6 days...any info would help. This is my first surgery and I don't really know what to expect.

 

[jbu0070]

hey, here is the long and short of the whole thing, if u have done rehab and strength training and still have no progress u need to think of other options. The surgery will probably take away your pain and the recovery time will be minimal, believe me, i have been there and i work with orthopedic surgeons every day. Just remember, follow the docs instructions when it comes to rehab and u will be ready to ride in no time. Take care and keep us updated

 

[MXGirl230]

Following the docs instructions shouldn't be too hard. I learned the hard way to listen to what they say or else there is consequences. The nurse called yesterday and said I'll probably be out of work for a week (I stand up for 8 hours a day, and only get to sit on my lunch hour). I kind of get the feeling all of these doctors and nurses have no idea that there are jobs out there, where you don't get to sit down. Good part is I'll be getting paid to be off work. Bad part is, I'm going to be bored out of my mind...I could go down to the indoor track down the road and watch some practices and Saturdays race. Not sure if I'll be able to drive, though. I'll keep posting though. Surgery is next Thursday (26th).

 

[jbu0070]

well mx girl, i hope all is well with the surgery. Heal fast and good luck, keep us posted

 

[JJmxr]

Just remember that your recovery is important for your knee in all aspects of an active life. Unless you have sponsors that are paying you, or you are trying to pursue a career in riding don't rush yourself to get back on the bike, its not worth it. Pay close attention to the things your Dr. tells you, and be diligent with your therapy. One thing I think that is a good idea is to ask the therapy place if they will let you use one of those machines that you pedal with your arms so you can maintain your carido fitness while you heal. You might also consider a second opinion as it is always a good idea. Good luck!

 

[MXGirl230]

Thanks, I go to the gym 5x a week. So I'll have to keep doing that, minus the leg stuff. He hasn't mentioned any PT, yet...The nurse that called said they really don't know what to tell me until it is all done. I'm getting kinda nervous, but at the same time I'm glad I'm getting it fixed. No, I don't have any sponsers paying me. I just want to be able to ride. As soon as it gets warm, I'm hoping to be able to ride my street bike. Much cheaper on gas! I'll keep everyone posted though, I won't have anything better to do. Since it's my right knee..I'm not sure how well I'll be able to drive.
-Tracie-

 

[DougMXer]

My advice. Get the damaged area that cannot be repaired excised and then wait until the CMI (Collagen Meniscus Implant) matures and then get the excised volume regenerated which is what I personally have done.

Cheers
Doug

 

[Treejumper]

I had both knees done so far. First knee i waited 6 months or longer before getting fixed. That knee has arthritis and hurts quite often. Second one i had done right away and no pain now.

As for how it went. Both surgeries i had done on a friday. Follow-up appointment on monday. Was told to start working the knee to get movement back and use crutches only as a aid incase of fall or pain. They removed the stiches later that week. Second week i started PT for 4 weeks, 3 days a week. Was walking pretty normal by end of second week. By end of 3rd week i was better than before i had the surgery. On the second knee surgery they told me not to come back after the 3rd week because i had move movement and stronger than before surgery. I was riding with in 4 weeks.

As mentioned, follow Dr's instructions as all people are different. It was that way between both knees on me. First one took 2 weeks longer to heal and required more time in surgery since i wanted too long before having it fixed. Let us know how the surgery goes and good luck!

 

[MXGirl230]

Well I had the surgery today, went pretty well. I watched the whole thing. The doc discovered that the cartiledge was fraying, due to impact is all he can figure. So he cleaned everything up and said it shouldn't take too long to heal. Won't really know anything until I go back for a follow up in 7-10 days. They have my leg all wrapped up right now, and I can't remove that stuff until Monday...They even gave me the pics, kinda cool. Yeah, I know I'm an odd one. Thanks everyone for the info. hopefully I'll be back to work soon. Work won't let me go back to work on restrictions, I have to be 100%, b/c one person screwed it up for everyone.
Tracie

 

[Treejumper]

Good to hear it went well! My work is the same way, no partial duty. Did they put it in a straight brace or semi flexible brace? I found that with the semi flexible brace i had alittle movement, like 1/2" or so and was so much easier to bend it after the 4 days in the brace.

 

[MXGirl230]

They put a huge ace bandage on it. They wrapped me from my thight to my ankle. I can kinda move it, but not a whole lot. It feels pretty good so far. I was on it too much today...I'm one of those ones to can't sit still for very long...Now, all I have to do is make it a few more weeks without work. If it was my left knee I could drive, but since it's my right..no driving...
Tracie

 

[MXGirl230]

I have another question about this post-surgery...should I consider knee braces now? They took out some cartiledge. I'm wondering if I am at a higher risk of injuring that knee?? Any advice, or info. would be helpful. Thank you
Tracie

 

[darringer]

Knee braces are a good idea whether there is still instability in the knee or not. I will not ride without my braces. Not only to protect my bad knee, but also to keep the one good knee I have left healthy.

 

[JJmxr]

The knee brace question is one that is tough to answer with yes or no in my opinion. After my sons ACL injury I did a lot of asking around of the medical people on the issue. First off the is no data that supports the use of knee braces as a provilactic (sp*) measure. As a matter of fact studies have shown no difference in injury rates between braced, and non-braced athletes. Most meniscual injuries are the result of the upper and lower leg bones impacting each other, and knee braces are not designed to help in a compression injury as such. Even though the guy who fitted my sons custom brace acknowledged these issues even though his job is to sell $1400 braces.

All that being said there is no doubt that a brace is a must for a damaged knee, and my personal opinion is that for riding a set of braces is a great idea. We will be buying a set of Asterisks before he rides again because I think that even if there is the chance that they will help prevent a knee injury its worth it. Will they prevent injury though? I guess it is a debate that will go on for a long time, but maybe we should ask RC or the Fonz what they think.

 

[MXGirl230]

I remember Patrana saying that the reason he doesn't wear knee braces is b/c he actually was injured wearing them. I don't remember exactly what happened, though. I was looking into Asterisks, and I noticed that the size small is for someone 5'9"...I'm 5'3". I realize that there are other ways of measuring. I tried the asterisk website, but didn't get very far on it. Not sure if it's not loading properly or what...I have plenty of time to look into things though..hopefully I can return to work in 3 wks..hopefully...

 

[kmccune]

I am suprised you doctor didn't want to fix it right away. Unless you are really young there is a very remote possibility that it will heal on its own.

This is what my Dr advised me to do and it took around two months, but it does not heal, it (and I'm quoting my DR here) grinds away. He said this only works when it is torn on the outer edges though. 4 months? I would have the surgery, as it should be OK now if it was going to be.
Get well soonn the snows a'meltin!

 

[MXGirl230]

Went to the Doctor today, he said I should (hopefully) be able to return to work on the 15th which is cool. That is if I am able to stand on it w/out too much pain. I did find out that most of the cartiledge is gone. Some of it was beyond repairing. From what I understood..most of the Meniscus isn't there or gone..He was telling me so much I got everything mixed up.
-Tracie-

 

[HobRoff]

Good thread! I am going in Monday AM for an MRI on my right knee and was about about to do an search on "Torn Miniscus"

I have put off the surgery for a couple years now and the injury flared back up this last week for some reason, I am going to have the procedure they recommend done for sure, in my job I am essentially a professional walking dude
(Forester) and I can't be down for very long, especially being self employed and luckily I carry my own L&I.

Where in Wyoming are you moving? talk about unlimited riding possibilities. Great place to live to if you like a home where the buffalo roam

 

[MXGirl230]

We're moving to Larmie, We're going to finish school at the University of Wyoming. Phil has about a year left, I still have a couple. There are tons of places to ride.

I got lucky with mine. The doctor originally said 4-6wks off work, but I should (If I'm goood and stay off it...) be back to work on the 15th of this month...I just had the surgery on 26th. What happened to mine was the impact of the car hitting my knee tore the meniscus and the some surrounding cartiledge. They took out quite a bit of cartiledge though. He said that if I ever get big I'll have knee problems, but as long as I stay around where I'm at now..I'll be fine. The doctor found out that the cartiledge has started to fray and was damaged beyond repair.

HobRoff: I found some good info. on webmd.com I put in a search for "meniscus" and it brought up quite a bit of info. Including the ups and downs of having surgery. Good Luck. I watched the surgery being done, that was pretty cool!

 

[HobRoff]

Thanks for the info MXGirl, I'll head on over to WEBmd. You'll love Wyoming, I did anyway, lived in Big Piney for about a year working on an Exxon job, beau coup (lots of) recreation possibilities.