Having arthroscopic surgery For anyone who tears a meniscus, there is a bit of good news and bad news. The bad news is that tears do not mend themselves, because the majority of the meniscus has no blood supply and can't undergo the normal healing process that occurs in most of the rest of the body. The good news is that if you require surgery, you won't have a big slash in your knee and your entire cartilage removed - as was done decades ago. Now, if you have a torn meniscus, you're a candidate for arthroscopic surgery, a minimally invasive procedure that requires three tiny incisions, can be done in less than an hour of operating time, and results in very little scarring and a short recovery. Most people after knee arthroscopy are able to return to desk jobs within a week and to more strenuous activities within a month.
Meniscus tears can be painful.
Before surgery, the wrong turn in my bed or getting in and out of my car would result in a ripping pain. Sometimes my knee would lock, so I couldn't bend it. What happens, Jolley explains, is that the fragment of torn meniscus gets caught in the joint hinge. It's almost like getting your finger caught in a door. An X-ray discounted broken bones and arthritis from severe joint wear.