No fluff. No fads. Deep-dive investigative reports from the surgeon who actually sees the inside of the joints.
If your MRI report said "meniscus tear," take a breath. Roughly one in three adults walking around with zero pain have a tear on imaging. What matters is the pattern, the location, your symptoms, and your sport — not the word "tear."
Each knee has two C-shaped cartilage pads — medial (inside) and lateral (outside). They turn your tibia from a flat table into a cup that cradles the femur. They distribute 50% of your body weight across the joint every step. Remove them and the cartilage underneath grinds down 6× faster.
Long tear parallel to the rim. Often causes locking. Best candidate for repair — high heal rate.
Perpendicular split. Interrupts the hoop — serious because it kills shock absorption. Root tears = repair.
Tear splits the meniscus like a pita. Usually degenerative, often in the white zone — trim selectively.
Mixed pattern, fraying edges. In the 50+ knee with arthritis, often treated non-operatively first.
Twenty years ago we cut aggressively. Now we know: every millimeter of meniscus you keep is a year of knee replacement you push back. When in doubt, stitch it.
Dr. Sameh Elguizaoui, M.D.Arthroscopy — 3 small incisions, 45–60 min.
Walking, home. Trim: full weight. Repair: crutches.
Trim patients back to gym. Repair patients regaining range.
Trim: return to sport. Repair: jog progression starts.
Repair: full return to cutting sports.
Not automatically. If you have no locking and mild symptoms, we trial structured rehab first. We only cut when the tear is what is stopping you from living.
Often both. A high-resolution MRI separates them. If the cartilage is heavily involved, see the cartilage restoration breakdown.
Yes — most repair patients are back to full running at 4 months and cutting sports at 5–6. The trade-off of extra time is a knee that still has its shock absorbers at 55.
About half of ACL tears have a meniscus tear alongside. We fix both in the same arthroscopic sitting. Read the ACL warning signs.
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Take the first step toward recovery. Schedule a consultation with Dr. Elguizaoui to discuss your condition and explore your treatment options.