Arthroscopic treatment of meniscus

Many people choose arthroscopy as a treatment method when treating meniscus, but in fact, the degree of meniscus damage is different. Doctors will formulate different treatment plans according to different injuries of different people. Since the position of meniscus is relatively special and very important to us, it must be treated carefully so as not to affect future life. So is arthroscopy effective in treating meniscus?

There are two types of meniscus arthroscopic surgery: one is called meniscusplasty, which includes complete meniscectomy, and the other is called meniscus suture. Meniscus suture is mainly used for tears in the red zone of the meniscus or for young patients who have high demands on sports. The recovery period for meniscus suture is relatively long. If the torn meniscus heals and the function of the knee joint is restored well, the proportion of osteoarthritis forming in the future will be relatively reduced. After meniscectomy, the temporary effect is good, but the chance of developing osteoarthritis in 5-10 years is relatively high. In 10-15% of patients who have had meniscus sutured, the sutured meniscus will not heal, and the symptoms will become worse instead of being relieved, requiring another meniscus repair surgery. The earlier the meniscus surgery is performed, the better, and the higher the chance of it healing after suturing. Secondly, when the meniscus starts to tear, the damage to the joint is eliminated early and the damage to the joint is relatively small.

Whether surgery is needed after meniscus injury or rupture is a question of weighing the pros and cons and comprehensively evaluating the degree of maintenance and improvement of knee joint function. The meniscus rupture is large and there is obvious pain in the knee joint. It often happens that a ruptured meniscus becomes stuck in the joint and causes locking. Due to the structural characteristics of the meniscus itself, the possibility of self-healing is very low. Most of the time, the meniscus fragments will become heavier and heavier, resulting in a reduction in the residual part of the meniscus. At the same time, the stuck meniscus fragments will destroy the articular cartilage in the joint like a bead stuck in a bearing, causing degenerative changes in the knee joint prematurely or accelerated. In this case, meniscus surgery is needed. If the meniscus rupture is small or there is only slight wear, removing part of the meniscus will increase the stress on the articular cartilage at the removal site, which will aggravate the degenerative changes of the knee joint. The edge of the meniscus is supplied with blood. If a rupture occurs here, it may heal through surgical suture, which is more conducive to protecting the function of the knee joint.

Due to the important function of the meniscus in the knee joint and the great impact of meniscus resection on the process of joint degenerative changes, the surgical principle for meniscus rupture is to retain as much normal and stable meniscus tissue as possible. The type of crack is an important factor in considering whether to repair or patch. Bucket-handle ruptures and vertical longitudinal ruptures tend to self-reset and stabilize, so repair can be considered; horizontal, radial, lamellar, complex, and degenerative ruptures are difficult to heal, and partial resection is the most common treatment method. For discoid meniscus, meniscus repair surgery is performed directly.