Anybody here have a torn menisus & opt not to have surgery?

[tboo]

I found out I have a possible torn lateral meniscus & have been given the option of arthroscopic surgery to have the torn pieces removed or just to leave it be. Ive had scopes before so I know they arent that bad but I really dont want to go through the rehab if I get surgery. Has anybody torn their mensicus & just left it be? I really dont have any pain. The only problem I do encounter is that my knee swells a bit if I stand on it for 5+ hours although that has seem to have diminished as time passes.

****UPDATE***
I had my knee scoped yesterday. It was an injury I got while at work so it was a workman's comp issue & my company's insurance wanted me to have it done now. Ended up being a bucket handle tear of my lateral meniscus.

 

[cardiac]

Going through the exact same thing right now. Been off work for 2 weeks. Saw the ortho doc last week after an MRI and X-rays. Thinning meniscus with a very slight tear in it and an inflamed medial collateral ligament. Cortisone shots right now and it feels pretty good. Scope would take me out of work 6-8 weeks (I am a firefighter/paramedic), and I don't want to be out of work that long...

Bob

 

[Cuda1447]

I'm not a doctor, so take this with a grain of salt... but....

I tore my meniscus when I was young. I kept having knee sublocations as I got older, wasn't really sure what the problem was. Eventually I partially tore the acl and had my knee scoped. The meniscal tear was found then (I think I know when it happened, years earlier). It was cleaned up and my knee was quite a bit better for awhile afterwards even though the partial tear ACL was never operated on.

Eventually I had the ACL repaired, but I knew I was going to have to. Point of my story is this... the rehab for the scope surgery was VERY minor. A couple of weeks and I was back at it. Nothing compared to ACL reconstruction rehab. And, given what I think I know about my history, I'm almost 100% positive that the sublocation knee injuries I was having was directly related to the partially torn meniscus that I am pretty sure I suffered when I was about 12. (I can remember the exact instance I think it happened, just didn't realize the severity of it at the time).

Given that info, if I had to do it all over I would have had my knee scoped at a much younger age and hopefully saved myself a ton of pain.

 

[tboo]

Going through the exact same thing right now. Been off work for 2 weeks. Saw the ortho doc last week after an MRI and X-rays. Thinning meniscus with a very slight tear in it and an inflamed medial collateral ligament. Cortisone shots right now and it feels pretty good. Scope would take me out of work 6-8 weeks (I am a firefighter/paramedic), and I don't want to be out of work that long...

Bob

Im felling pretty good right now as well. I just dont want this to bite me in the ass 20 years from now.

 

[angminas]

Not to push you in one way or the other, but know that, if you don't get it repaired, you run a risk of pieces breaking off, getting stuck in the wrong place, locking up your knee, and forcing immediate emergency surgery, which would no doubt be FAR more expensive and inconvenient. Then there's also the knee stability and secondary injury issue mentioned above.

How great are these risks? I don't know. You could ask your orthopedist and the local ER how many of those they see. If it's mega rare, you could probably pass for a while; otherwise, I've always been a fan of getting things fixed if you can so they don't break worse later on, maybe at a worse time.

 

[Matthiasa]

I would die if I had to stand for 5+ hours.
Even standing for an hour or so is bad.. but that's from other joints being dumb.

 

[Adrenaline]

I tore mine at work and had surgery done. When I had the surgery done, the MRI showed only one tear but when the doctor went in he found it torn in two places. You go through about a week of pain and then you are fine and just do some physical therapy. It is a 4-6 week process.

 

[BoomerD]

Really, it comes down to:
How bad is it torn?
Does it cause you any problems?

When I tore my medial meniscus, a large flap would get in the way and the knee would lock up. I'd have to "work the knee around" until it let go with a POP! then I could move fairly normally again. Hurt like a mofo when it did that though.

Had the meniscotomy when I had the ACL graft done. Not much cartilege left in that knee. Next step is a knee replacement. (NOT looking forward to that)

If the torn cartilege doesn't cause any problems for you, you can postpone the surgery until it does.

http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp05005.htm

 

[olds]

Mine used to lock up like BoomerD's but I tore the liament completely in half too. I had to have surgery.

Right now I have an almost complete tear in a tendon in my right shoulder. They told me I needed surgery and would be off for 4 months and then on light duty for 8. That was a year ago and I still have a torn tendon.
I'd go crazy with that much time off work.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

You know, Brandon Roy (of the Blazers) had this surgery and was back to playing in just over a week. More than likely you'll be almost in complete function in less than a month.

But who am I? Not a doctor.

 

[olds]

You know, Brandon Roy (of the Blazers) had this surgery asndwas back to playing in just over a week. More than likely you'll be almost in complete function in less than a month.

But who am I? Not a doctor.

Did you stay at a Holiday Inn last night?

 

[Pacfanweb]

Just had my right knee scoped for this very thing last September.

I did no rehab....and it's fine. I was hopping around on it the next week.

Doctor told me that it would have just continued to slowly tear had I not had it fixed, and been much worse later.

I personally wouldn't just let it go, even if it's not bothering you right now....if it's hurt you in the past, it'll hurt you again. Just a matter of time.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I had a scope done to my knee over 10 years ago and don't remember doing much of any rehab.

 

[techforums]

You know, Brandon Roy (of the Blazers) had this surgery and was back to playing in just over a week. More than likely you'll be almost in complete function in less than a month.

But who am I? Not a doctor.

Probably wasn't the greatest idea. When he did come back, his performance was terrible.

 

[dwell]

I have a torn medial meniscus in my left knee for about six months. Did PT for two months but it still hurts every once and a while. Not getting surgery unless it gets worse.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Probably wasn't the greatest idea. When he did come back, his performance was terrible.

True, but he was able to move around better than most of us can on our better days. That just shows he probably could've walked around just fine.

If it took him a week to get there it should only be a month (max) for a normal person with normal healthcare.

 

[Greenman]

Been over 35 years now with a tear that will sometimes lock my knee. I looked into having it repaired some years back and decided it wasn't worth the down time. I still don't know if I made the right decision.

 

[tboo]

Right now I think I am going to opt out of surgery for a while. I really dont want the down time. As BoomerD said I can always have surgery at a later time.

 

[DayLaPaul]

You know, Brandon Roy (of the Blazers) had this surgery and was back to playing in just over a week. More than likely you'll be almost in complete function in less than a month.

But who am I? Not a doctor.

Bill Simmons quoting Will Carrol:

"If a player today has a small meniscus tear that is symptomatic--painful with popping or clicking--it won’t be long before a surgeon has a scope in him. One reason teams are so quick to allow this surgery is that the players come back so rapidly, usually in a matter of weeks. But the surgery itself could be part of the issue. Surgeons don’t repair the meniscus in most cases; they just take it out, either in part or in whole depending on the size of the tearing. That leaves the athlete with no shock. Eventually, with the remaining meniscus overstressed and aging, they end up with the bones grinding together. Yes, that’s as bad as it sounds in a game of running and jumping."

 

[tboo]

Original post updated. I had the surgery done.

 

[zebano]

Hope the surgery & rehab works.

 

[BoomerD]

Take your time with rehab. DO NOT try to rush things.

 

[Azraele]

Original post updated. I had the surgery done.

Hope it feels better soon.

 

[MJinZ]

Mine used to lock up like BoomerD's but I tore the liament completely in half too. I had to have surgery.

Right now I have an almost complete tear in a tendon in my right shoulder. They told me I needed surgery and would be off for 4 months and then on light duty for 8. That was a year ago and I still have a torn tendon.
I'd go crazy with that much time off work.

wth do you guys do that cause these injuries?

 

[thepd7]

wth do you guys do that cause these injuries?

be old?