|
Knee1.com strives to provide users with as many tools as possible to educate
themselves on their knee problems. In the past, we offered an interactive
"Ask an Expert" feature, but due to an extremely high volume of questions,
we are now seeking to find alternate ways to provide our users with access to the
information they're looking for. In seeking medical advice, we encourage you to use
these resources:
Below are some of the most-recently-answered questions from our Medical Experts. We recommend you read
over these questions as well as search our "Frequently Asked Questions" to
see if your question has already been answered.
If your question has not been addressed, please concider submitting your question to a Body1 Hero in an upcoming chat by clicking here.
Question:
After arthroscopy to repair muniscal tears, my left knee still collapses swells and is in constant pain. Dr has prescribed therapy which is making it worse. It is now 6 weeks after surgery. Originalinjury was when someone tripped me on stairs, my left foot was pushed left and body was rotaed to the right.Somethng still feels disconnected.What could it be?
| Dr. Farr |
Dr. Farr is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in knee and sports medicine. He serves on the board of the Orthopedic Research Foundation and is medical director of www.cartilagerestoration.org and www.myknee.md, where emphasis is on exploring new ways to treat damaged cartilage. Dr. Farr is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), the American Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine (AOSSM) and the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA).
|
Answer:
Meniscal repair seems to be a very specific treatment, but it means different things to different people. Some nonmedical people use the term loosely to mean any treatment of the meniscus--even the more common partial trimming of tissues which is actually better referred to as a partial menisectomy. The more precise use of meniscal repair, in fact, means the tear is actually repaired using suture or one of the many relatively new devices (arrows, screws, etc.) to reduce and fix the torn portions back together. In this latter case, the healing rate is highly dependent on the type, position and size of the tear. Six weeks may seem like a long time, yet this is the universal time duration for "initial healing". Therefore, do not be discouraged. Talk with your surgeon about the exact type of tear and treatment. Then discuss the expected course.
|