UKC

Horizontal Oblique Medial Meniscus Tear Advice and Guidance

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
 Marc Langley 21 Oct 2015
Hi All.

I am seeking some additional advice with regards to a current injury I have. Yesterday I had my follow up appointment with my consultant after having a Knee MRI scan. The consultant is a Sports Medicine Consultant and he has diagnosed the knee pain and the result is a Horizontal Oblique Tear of the Medial Meniscus. Initially during the consultation he wanted to take a conservative no surgical approach to recovery but midway through he stopped him self and advised he thinks a second opinion might be worth a shout just to back up his treatment plan. Next week I am off to see Professor Philip Turner in Cheadle who is going to have a further look at my scans and come up with a treatment plan along side the support from the consultant. I know all the questions I have will be answered by them but some times old fashioned real life experiences can be more informed. Has any one else out there had the same injury and if so what was the outcome? How was the recovery and what method of treatment did you receive? More importantly are there are winter climbers out there who have had this injury and have you been able to maintain your activities?
Thanks all,

Marc
 arch 21 Oct 2015
In reply to Marc Langley:

Is the Prof form South Africa ?? I had a operation performed by someone of that name at the Droitwich knee clinic eons ago.

You'll be fine. I would think they'll just trim the tear off arthoscopicly (sp) and you should be back up and at it about 6-8 weeks later. I'm not a climber, but I carried on playing Rugby for 10 years. Only thing to consider is it will always be weaker than pre op no matter how much strengthening you do. I went on to have more ops and now my knee is in a pretty bad state. Next op is a new knee.
OP Marc Langley 21 Oct 2015
In reply to arch:

Hi Arch,

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure were he is from. I understand he is a specialist in Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic surgery. He is based in the BMI Alexander hospital in Manchester. His Biography says he works for Manchester City Football club so fingers crossed he will sort me out haha.
 1234None 21 Oct 2015
In reply to Marc Langley:

I had surgery to sort out a medial meniscus tear last Wednesday. I live in the Middle East so had it done out here, and was surprised at how well the surgery went and how straightforward everything seemed. With arthroscopy it is quite a minor procedure and from my experience it is the norm to walk out of hospital the same day without crutches. Exactly a week later, I can cycle and walk without any discomfort at all. I don't have full range of movement back yet, but it's improving every day. I'm not doing any resistance training or anything yet, but I envisage being able to do some soon to build the leg back up to full strength.

Before surgery the pain was excruciating and I couldn't bend my leg beyond about 10 degrees as the torn section of the meniscus was stuck between the tibia and fibia. Walking more than about 100 metres was tricky! My understanding is that cartilage has a very poor blood supply and therefore is unlikely to just sort itself out, but I guess that depends how bad the tear is and what complications it's causing. Obviously, removing sections of meniscus can lead to future issues, including arthritis. I'm having to think about running a little less and doing more swimming and cycling, as I've now had surgery on both knees to remove damaged meniscus and don't want to be looking at knee replacements in 10 years....

Whatever you decide, all the best. It sounds like you've got good docs on the case.


OP Marc Langley 21 Oct 2015
In reply to 1234None:

Thanks PeakDJ. Your case seems fairly similar to what I have red on the web. Doing some research I noticed allot of sports clinics in the US offer a Meniscal implant. I can seem to find much practice of this in the UK.
Thanks buddy
 1234None 21 Oct 2015
In reply to Marc Langley:

Not heard much about implants. I had a "repair" on my left knee about 8 years ago where the surgeon (Paul Sutton of Sheffield Orthopaedica) basically stitched the meniscus back in place with plastic sutures. The recovery time was longer...about 6 weeks in a range-limiting brace and unable to weight the leg. It seems to have worked though...so far, and the long term prognosis is better.
Doug Kerr 21 Oct 2015
In reply to Marc Langley:

Interesting thread! I have a tear in my medial meniscus 'with a horizontal component' which I sustained back in July. I've had a weak knee for several years and I wasn't at all surprised (although thankfully I wasn't out on my own soloing or bouldering when it happened). I was in agony for 4 weeks and walking any sort of distance was just out of the question. Then, after 2 further weeks of really 'intensive' rest I started to get better, very, very quickly. I went back to work, I could walk again and about 4 weeks ago I started some very easy bouldering. I am still waiting for surgery although 2 weeks ago I felt well enough to start climbing again. I've had a few short sessions on our local bouldering wall and I even done a few easy'ish routes in the great outdoors. I am still on the list awaiting keyhole surgery although now I'm really not sure if I actually want/need to go ahead with the operation. I've spoken to several people who have had the operation and the results seem really mixed; some have made pretty good recoveries while others wished they hadn't bothered. One thing is for certain my meniscus will still be torn whether I have arthroscopy or not. Also, as I understand it, arthroscopy may be a relatively straightforward procedure but it's quite invasive and there can be complications (probably only in very limited cases). But at my present rate of recovery I can see myself climbing E numbers again within the next 2-3 weeks. Decisions. decisions.

Sorry Marc I don't winter climb but a friend of mine (he may post here) knows of a keen winter climber who has had arthroscopy and now uses a special knee support specifically for ice climbing. I'd guess that the knees get particularly hammered on ice?


OP Marc Langley 21 Oct 2015
In reply to Doug Kerr:

Hey Doug, Thanks for the reply. I'm in a similar place to you. I'm back bouldering again with limited issues although dropping knees is quite painful which is limiting some problems. I feel there is almost a 50/50 split with surgery verses those who don't. I did find a clinic in Germany called Ivy sports med that do a CMI transplant but not much info on success. Bloody knees there a pain in the arse at times haha. That's interesting about your mate. If you could give him a nudge to drop me a message i would really appreciate it.
Thanks again Doug and good luck with your surgery mate.
Regards
Marc
Doug Kerr 22 Oct 2015
In reply to Marc Langley:

Will do.
I should add (regarding my own circumstances) that I'm in my 50's and recovery these days, even from a good night out, is a much much longer process. Currently I still have a 'dullness' in my knee which is especially noticeable walking downhill but my climbing is slowly getting stronger. Looks like I need to decide between long term dullness (nothing new there then!) and the risk of arthritis/inflammation from arthroscopy.
OP Marc Langley 22 Oct 2015
In reply to Doug Kerr:

Haha thanks Doug. I have just been doing some more digging around and it appears there is an implant solution. I have added the link below for you to have a look also. Im going to mention it to the Professor on Wednesday so I can drop you a message and update you if you like?

http://www.bjjprocs.boneandjoint.org.uk/content/92-B/SUPP_III/412.4

Thanks Again.
Doug Kerr 22 Oct 2015
In reply to Marc Langley:

Interesting, thanks. Yes, I'd appreciate an update.
 Dave 24 Oct 2015
In reply to Doug Kerr:
I had a meniscus tear a few years back, had an MRI, went to see two surgeons, one of whom was dead keen to operate, and another well known chap who operated on one D.Beckham a few years back. He was less sure, saying either way it wasn't going to be completely right again, so I decided to wait and see how it went. 5 years later its mostly fine, clicks a bit, occasionally gets that 'dull' feeling and I'm happy I didn't have an operation. I thought recent research had shown the outcome is the same or better with no operation? Obviously if you've got loose bits jamming the knee that needs fixing but otherwise wait a gew months and see how it goes - there's no hurry I think. Late 40's at the time of the injury.
Post edited at 21:06
Doug Kerr 25 Oct 2015
In reply to Dave:

Thanks Dave, interesting to hear, thanks for sharing.

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...