The meniscus is the fibrocartilage in the knee joint. There are two menisci in a knee joint, which are on the inner and outer sides, respectively. They are soft to the touch, like rubber pads. Their functions include lifting weight, transmitting load, absorbing stress, and stabilizing the joint.
Meniscus injury is one of the most common injuries in the whole body, more common in young adults, more men than women. The meniscus will be damaged due to excessive exercise, such as high-intensity running, sudden knee sprain when playing ball, etc., which will cause the meniscus to tear. d squatting and the feeling of being stuck will disappear after a while.
If the meniscus injury is not treated in time, it may lead to further knee cartilage damage and even early degeneration. The treatment method for meniscal injury mainly includes conservative treatment and surgical arthroscopic repair. Patients who have not improved significantly after 3-6 months of conservative treatment can try the surgical treatment.
Operation. Generally, the meniscus tear surgery is performed under general anesthesia, and there are 2 wounds, The size of each wound is about the thickness of a child. Cut from the skin to The final stitching is about 40 minutes.
What should you pay attention to before meniscus tear surgery?
If you and your specialist decide to have meniscus tear surgery, you may need to do some tests in advance.
1. Local anesthesia test
It is a type of anesthesia that numbs only your knee area.
2. Semi-general anesthesia
It is an anesthesia that numbs the body from the waist down.
3. Instruct you in advance on how to recover after surgery or order necessary braces or crutches.
What happens during arthroscopic meniscus surgery?
The most common procedure for a meniscal tear is knee arthroscopy. Usually takes less than an hour. First, you are given anesthesia. Doctors from our surgical team will disinfect your knee and cover the rest of your leg with a surgical drape. Higher.
The tests that need to be done before surgery include :
- blood tests,
- an electrocardiogram,
- and a chest x-ray
These tests can help determine if you are healthy enough to tolerate surgery.
The anesthesiologist will decide, based on your physical condition, that you should receive
What type of anesthesia (to control pain):
Anesthesia.
3. General anesthesia is a form of anesthesia that puts you to sleep.
If you have local or partial anesthesia, you may also need some soothing medicine to help you relax. Normally, I can perform routine meniscus surgery under local anesthesia.
Before the operation, you should:
1. You should apply non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics one day in advance.
Control pain after meniscus tear surgery early.
How to prepare for the operation?
You may need to stop taking aspirin and other drugs one week before the operation.
Fasting and water deprivation the night before the operation. (except local anesthesia)
I should make two small incisions (about 5 mm) in your knee called portals. The knee joint is then filled with sterile saline. Saline helps control minor bleeding in joints and flushes.
Arthroscopy is a technique used to see the meniscus tear and decide what surgical technique to use to repair it;
1. Meniscus repair:
The torn menisci are stitched together to heal independently. However, not all tears can be sutured, and the closer the meniscus tear is to the red zone (the area with the richest blood supply), the higher the healing rate.
2. Partial meniscectomy:
Trimming and removing the damaged meniscus leaves the healthy meniscus tissue in place.
Depending on the condition of the injury, the doctor uses some other surgical tools. After finishing the meniscus repair, the doctor may close the wound with stitches or even close the wound without stitches. Your knees will then be wrapped with a braid.