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Sports Medicine News Torn meniscus Torn Knee Cartilage
A recent article by Dr. Rose in New York reviews the treatment plans for torn knee cartilage, otherwise known as a torn meniscus. The article simply gives a good overview of what we know about torn menisci. In the knee, there are two big shock absorbers called menisci. One is on the inside (medial) and one is on the outside (lateral). What a meniscus does is to increase the congruency between the shape of the end of the thigh bone or femur. In other words, the meniscus makes the joint surface match much better and the stresses are then dispersed better through a "hoop" mechanism.
The important thing about the meniscus is that it helps distribute the forces across the knee really well. It is well known that without the meniscus, degenerative changes occur much more rapidly. Many years ago, Dr. Fairbanks described the x-ray changes associated with patients that had a menisectomy. Much has been written about knee surgery since the old classic Dr. Fairbanks article. What has happened over the years is that most everything can be done through the arthroscope as an outpatient. Because the outer one third of the meniscus has a blood supply, many surgeons make every attempt at trying to repair the meniscus. Not all tears can be repaired, and the size and shape of the tear make all the difference in the odds of the tear healing. It should be remembered that no matter who does the surgery, the results are going to be varied. One of the most important points to remember is that a good diagnosis, a good treatment plan early, and a good surgery can often lead to an extremely improved result over no treatment or delayed treatment. You can read the entire review if you desire by going to www.orthopedicse.com and looking up Dr Louis C. Rose's article in the Orthopedic Special Edition, Volume 7, Number 2 of 2. If you want to learn more about sports injuries, please click on my website at the Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons found below and then click on the area "patient info/office forms. Scroll down to "meniscus tears". Be patient if you are not high speed on the internet. The list is extensive.
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