I would like to thank Dr. Jeremy Burnham for his wonderful work and surgery on my left shoulder. But youre also not alone. Had a meniscus root repair yesterday and the surgery was successful. Doctor Burnham and his staff were so helpful providing all the pros and cons associated with having surgery. Timeline: 1 week to 5 weeks after Surgery. Heel lift in opposite shoe to normalize gait. But youve got to figure out a way to get your butt muscles stronger if youre looking for a more comprehensive plan for making your knee better and getting your glutes stronger we also have a program called the 28 day knee health and wellness boost program you can also find that in the link and as a link in the description below. He answered all my questions satisfactorily and his entire staff were polite and professional. They walked me through the process from beginning to end. I did a little internet searching, and diagnosed myself with a Bakers Cyst, which I discovered was pretty common with meniscus tears. If scar tissue is present, Dr. Nwachukwu will clean up the area so the knee is allowed to move through its entire range of motion. Bottom line, it was pretty clear from the MRI that if I wanted to be out of pain, surgery was my only option. Arner, J.W., Herbst, E.. Meniscal Root Repair Article. Get answers from Family Physicians and top U.S. doctors, Our doctors evaluate, diagnose, prescribe, order lab tests, and recommend follow-up care. In particular, making sure the meniscus has a thorough release from scar tissue and making sure that ones sutures or UltraTape are placed into the best substance possible for the meniscus root repair, are important considerations to maximize the chance of healing of the revision root repair procedure. Meniscal root repairs and radial tear repairs should be progressed slowly because the tear involves complete disruption of the circumferential fibers of the meniscus. Therefore, addressing a meniscus root tear prior to the development of osteoarthritis would be indicated. We recognized that meniscus root tears were a problem over 10 years ago and set out to perform a comprehensive research program to help us figure out how to diagnose the problem, where to place the meniscus repair, and how best to fix the meniscus tear to allow for maximal healing capability. A meniscus root tear usually will not heal on its own. A meniscus repair to the knee cartilage is a minimally invasive surgery that can normally be performed on an outpatient basis. Repair of the meniscal root significantly increased functional outcomes scores in 14 of 14 studies and the rate of conversion to TKA was considerably less than those observed following conservative treatment or partial meniscectomy. In the early stages of your meniscus tear you can take these conservative and essential treatments which are as follows: Rest Ice every 15 minutes in every 4-6 hours Compression with an ACE wrap or sleeve Elevation of the leg Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) for pain. The mini First-Pass device allows placement of either a suture or an UltraTape through the substance of the meniscus, capturing the end of the stitch as it is placed through the meniscus and then it can be pulled out of the joint. And if youve already had your meniscus surgery, then you know what to do so that youre not getting more swelling, pain and not losing motion than that knee and youre staying out of the surgeons office, so you dont have to go back again for another knee surgery. Meniscus root tears are now being recognised as a significant cause of pain, disability, and rapid joint deterioration. The left knee was feeling great up until about a year and a half ago, when I started noticing some pain. When the tear is examined during arthroscopy, Dr. Hess will decide if the tear is able to be repaired . My wait time for office visits has always been less than 10 minutes. When you put weight on your leg, it is the meniscal roots that transfer the axial loading forces of the knee into hoop stress in the meniscus. Medication may be needed for 2-3 weeks. If you break down what most healthcare provision professionals tell their patients, it could be an orthopedic surgeon, or even a physical therapist, its telling somebody whos just had a meniscus surgery, theyll say, well, 80% of healing is done in the first two to three months. When a tear of the meniscal root, or even a tear near the root, occurs, the meniscus can no longer convert axial loading forces into hoop stresses. And they can get back to normal in about two or three months after having the surgery. It is vital that meniscus repair patients do not squat for at least four months after the repair. Dr. Jeremy Burnham did a reconstruction of my ACL on April 19th. That was day one. This is because a lack of meniscus attachment at the root causes extra stress to be placed on an ACL graft and it can also result in the patient having more instability, both with anterior tibial translation, and with twisting and turning activities during the pivot shift, when there is a concurrent lateral meniscus root tear. The back attachment of the medial meniscus, called a posterior horn attachment, is the most common location for meniscus root tears to occur. If one has too much arthritis, then the chance of a meniscus root repair helping one to slow down the progression of arthritis is probably not worth having the meniscus root repaired. And then after the surgery, the focus is doing physical therapy, typically if he gets sent there, and youre going to lose some motion in the surgery so your knee wont be able to bend or straighten all the way. Had I not been training all these years, I would not have had the slightest idea of how to rehab my knee after surgery. 2601 E. Yandell Drive, Suite 232 In general, almost all meniscus root tears require a 6-week period of being nonweightbearing to maximize the healing potential. A meniscal repair or arthroscopic meniscectomy is a surgical procedure to repair a torn meniscus via keyhole surgery. So if thats your feeling youve taken them and it hasnt really made a difference for you dont take them if you feel like to help you out please take them but dont just take the supplements in hopes of that replacing doing the right exercises and having the right expectations youve got to do them both together give us a like if you thought this video was helpful and please drop a comment if you have any questions and i hope that you get better real soon have a wonderful day guys. Dr. Burnham & his staff are very personable & caring. My MRI showed an extensive radial tear adjacent to the medial meniscus root insertion, as well as evidence of high-grade chondral loss involving the central trochlea. Thus, the entire weight of the body is transmitted through the femur into the cartilage of the knee. This is probably due to many factors, including the chronicity of the tear, the quality of the tissue, if the meniscus was released from scar tissue and pulled back in the joint, ones age, ones weight, and ones alignment. The study, " Patients Who Undergo Rotator Cuff Repair Can Safely Return to Driving at 2 Weeks Postoperatively ," was published online on July 21, 2022 in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. Most root tears involve either a direct tear of the meniscus off bone or a split of the meniscus within 1 cm of the root attachment. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to proceed with a meniscus root repair whenever possible, with patients up to the age of 70 being reported as having excellent return of function. So the focus of physical therapy after a knee meniscus surgery is getting your motion all the way back and then getting strong enough to stand and do some walking. That means that the remaining meniscus is smaller, but still taking the same pressure. Appreciate the attention and time spent during office visits. After about two hours, I got up, crutched into the kitchen, brewed a pot of coffee and made myself some pancakes. While there are a small number of patients who do have their meniscus root re-tear, this has been nowhere near as common as the other sources noted above. Dr. Robert F. LaPrade operated on my right knee in May of 2010. The therapists were a little surprised to see me so soon after my surgery, but I really wanted to know how much range of motion I had post-surgery. This allows the meniscus to heal back to the bone. An ACL tear most commonly occurs from a turning, twisting, or deceleration mechanism in a noncontact mode. I was adding 10 pounds a week for deadlifts but have now switched to pause deadlifts on Tuesday and add only 5 pounds a week to the heavy deadlift. I would highly recommend Dr Burnham and all of his surrounding colleagues at Ochsner. Meniscus root repair vs meniscectomy or nonoperative management to prevent knee osteoarthritis after medial meniscus root tears: Clinical and economic effectiveness. A meniscus that still has extrusion present also does not function as well over the long term. There was absolutely no knee pain. Just its a big deal to take your time and let that cartilage heal at the rate that it heals you generally can go faster than what it heals, And the question that i get often is do i take any supplements glucosamine chondroitin those types of supplements and you know the answer to that is its not going to hurt we the research is kind of mixed on it sometimes it helps sometimes it doesnt help what we know is that it generally doesnt hurt it doesnt make it worse so youre not going to youre not going to make things worse if you decide to take those supplements are generally safe to take but some people report no difference. I had a traumatic knee injury that he performed surgery on. In layman terms, I had completely torn my medial meniscus from the bone, and it had to be sewn back on. An ACL tear commonly has a pop on the outside of the knee, whereas a patient who has meniscus root tear commonly feels a pop in the back of the knee. Can you tear your meniscus again after a surgery and if you do how can you tell? My surgery was at 8:30am Wednesday, February 20. My pain was gone. I think my clients thought I had lost my mind, but what else was I going to do? They are also important to the stability and function of the knee, keeping the meniscus in place. Grant H. Garcia, MD 148 subscribers Dr Garcia demonstrates his new meniscal extrusion technique to further improve meniscus root repairs. If patients put weight on the knee immediately after the repair, the forces on . Your care after surgery may involve: Crutches to take stress off the knee as it heals. Historically, these root tears are often treated with benign neglect and either ignored or trimmed out. I was worried for my future with my legs letting me walk but she put me at ease letting me know she will do everything in her power to fix me or send me to whatever specialist I need to see to make sure I have a good chance walking in my future, and they all truly fantastic doctors. . I could not bear weight on my right side though I tried repeatedly, but finally I went and got an MRI and one of the orthopedic surgeons that I worked with was shocked when he saw the MRI result. And cartilage is one of the slowest healing tissues in the body. Never disregard or delay professional medical advice in person because of anything on HealthTap. In patients who have open growth plates, consideration may be necessary to either plan to remove the sutures after the meniscus root repair heals or to consider placing the tunnels and suture repair above the growth plate such that is does not cross the growth plate and have a theoretical chance of causing a growth plate arrest. Dr. Burnham was very thorough with his examination and diagnosis. My experience with Dr. Burnham and his staff was exceptional. After a pretty serious car accident, Dr. Burnham performed knee surgery on me. The Steadman Clinic - Frisco, CO 226 Lusher Court Ste 101 Frisco, CO 80443. Edina, MN 55435, EAGAN-VIKING LAKES OFFICE These are totally different. If the patient has or has developed significant arthritis, which is usually designated at Kellgren-Lawrence grades 3 or 4, it is felt that a revision root repair may not be indicated. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. If not even worse. What was going to help my knee? A meniscus root repair involves reattaching the meniscus back to bone where it has been torn. And people are often disappointed to find out that as they begin to get back to normal, as theyve been told that they probably could and should they start to get swelling in the knee, they start to get a pain, of course. What made my recovery so fast? I am now adding 10 pounds a week to the bar for squats. I asked him about biking, and he told me that he allowed his patients to start biking two weeks after surgery. When the meniscus root is repaired there will be a prolonged period of restricted weight bearing and range of motion to protect the The blood supply to the meniscus in an adolescent or adult is very poor. Doctors typically provide answers within 24 hours. Stated to me , in detail, what to expect and how long my recovery will take. There are two ways to initiate a consultation with Dr. LaPrade: You can providecurrentX-rays and/or MRIs for a clinical case review with Dr. LaPrade. The . Procedure for Meniscus Root Repair. What could you eat or do for a meniscus tear to heal faster after surgery? Therefore, we strongly advocate using a button to fix the meniscus sutures or tape on the tibia to minimize the chance of loosening over time. The root attachments of the posterior horns of the medial and lateral meniscus are very important for joint health. The aftercare and recovery require postoperative protection to allow healing. while avoiding unnecessary surgery, injections, and medications. Early weightbearing has been found to be the cause of meniscus root repair failure, and this has been validated by our colleagues. Meniscal root repair is a procedure that is performed to stabilize a torn meniscus attachment to the tibia (shinbone). Studies comparing repair with either meniscectomy or conservative treatment found greater improvement and slower . We have published and validated our results in the peer-reviewed literature, which was at the time the largest series of meniscus root repairs reported. The Steadman Clinic - Edwards, CO I also started boxing sessions once a week with one of my coaches as I am not allowed to start back to BJJ until September. A week later, I got my MRI results and I was told that this was going to be a very long recovery, but I had other plans. Patients in Manhattan, Brooklyn, New York City and the surrounding New York boroughs can expect a variation of the following: Dr. Nwachukwu is extremely knowledgeable about his area of expertise. This usually presents with pain along the inside or medial portion of the joint and with swelling with activities. Once my doctor started the procedure, it was obvious that this would not be a simple surgery. It is felt that most meniscus root tear repairs are sufficiently healed to start these activities between 5 and 7 months postoperatively. 515 Ray C. Hunt Drive, Suite 1100, Charlottesville, VA 22903 Phone: 434-243-7778 Fax: 434-243-5075 Meniscal Root Repair Post-operative Rehabilitation Protocol. Currently, there are mini First-Pass devices that curve to the right and the left, which allows increased access to a root tear, especially since most root tears tend to squirt to the back part of the joint and can be more difficult to access with a straight biter. I was told it would be about 6 weeks, but my instructions are to wear a brace at full extension for the duration of this time. Other complications can include a blood clot, which is usually treated preemptively with some type of blood thinner, and irritation around the surgical button and/or surgical knot from the meniscus root tear. These radial root tears are equivalent to a meniscus root tear. First, we performed quantitative anatomy studies, which allowed us to see exactly where a meniscus root tear should be reattached. Placing sutures or UltraTape on each side of the tear and pulling it down into tunnels should be a safe and reliable method for a bony avulsion root repair. Deconditioning of ones quadriceps muscles can also cause similar symptoms, so it is important to determine if one has any atrophy of their thigh muscles, usually measured as the thigh circumference 15 cm above the patella and compared to the opposite leg. Thank you Dr. Burnham for being so amazing! Other sources of pain can include scarring within the joint that occurs as a normal part of a surgical procedure, or pain from other pathology and joint, such as arthritis under the kneecap. Meniscal root avulsions are a challenging injury causing meniscal extrusion and loss of hoop stress distribution, which can lead to the development of knee arthritis.1 Securing the meniscus in a small bone socket has proven to be an effective means to restore hoop stresses and improve outcomes.2 The FlipCutter II reamer and meniscal root marking hook allow for a minimally invasive .