Hi I am new to this forum and need some advice if I should have the surgery now for meniscus tear on my right knee or wait until it gets worse as my Ortho Doctor advised me yesterday. My knee had been locking for the past three years or so but always have managed to unlock on my own but last year it has started to hurt going up and down stairs so went to see the knee specialist and after MRI this is what I have the meniscus tear. Just want to know if I should wait and call him when I need the surgery or just go for it now?
The longer you wait, the more damage will be done. I did that, took 2 scopes to get all the damage fixed and pieces out. Had internal bleeding to. Doc was not happy.
I had a left knee medial meniscus tear which I had trimmed by ortho in 11/12. He said I would need knee replacement in four years. Three years and 10 months later (8/16) I had a knee replacent in that knee.
My advice is to get it repaired before you weaken other muscles "babying" it. Best of luck!
Locking, after a tear, usually means a piece of cartilage is floating around and floats into a spot that causes the knee not to bend. Not a good thing for safety/falls. You can only be the decider of a surgery. At least you have planning time to figure, help, money to pay bills, time off work, tools for recovery. People vary on rehab but figure 3wks for arthroscopic surgery.
Good luck
Why would you wait for it to get worse and deal with the pain? Many years ago, I had four knee scopes, two each knee for meniscus and femoral condyle. Scope on a Friday, CryoCuff all weekend, back to work WITH THE CUFF on Monday. This is no-brainer surgery, especially for a meniscus. Things like ACLs are way more difficult. Just get it done...
It sounds like it's not a matter of if but when. Its a personal matter but if it were me making the call I would say , " the sooner the better" so I could get my life back. Why live I pain and in limited activity when you don't have to. Some small meniscus injuries can repair themselves with physical therapy but apparently not in this case. With surgery you are looking at around 6 weeks including physical therapy.
Our general rule is to stay away from the operation unless there is instability or a significant locking up, so you may be better going the surgical option.
Keep in mind though there is always risk to any surgery and it is not a quick-fix.
Thank you to everyone for your replies, it really helped me decide on what to do and yes I will go for it now. Thank you