The meniscus lesion:how to treat it?

The menisci are a structure of elastic consistency that is between the femur and tibia, acting as a cushion. It has a special crescent shaped so that the femur is coupled to perfection with the tibia. We have 2 menisci in each knee, one external and one internal.

Meniscus Injury

The most common mechanism of injury is a knee rotation. They occur singly meniscus or ligament rupture associated with injuries ( ACL, medial… ) and/or articular cartilage

The most frequently affected meniscus is the back of the medial meniscus, but can hurt anywhere, depending on the movement performed. Due to the special form of blood supply of the meniscus, there are 2 types of breaks:

1. Localized more stations ( where there is no blood and must resect the lesion, and that does not heal )

2. Localized more peripheral (where blood supply and if it is possible suturing and keep ).

Fig. 1:torn meniscus. Fig. 2:Normal meniscus

As a treat

When it breaks“& rdquo entire meniscus;and you have to dry it, the pressure between femur and tibia increases up to 300%, resulting in cartilage wear medium term and early osteoarthritis. That is why, whenever possible, we must preserve the meniscus and suture. Buffer” currently meniscus suturing can be performed smoothly by arthroscopy permits maintaining the“ Natural knee.

Fig. 3:Status after partial resection of the torn meniscus

A more meniscus resected, more possibility of mid-term sequelae. If at the end of the year, there is pain and limitations due to wear of cartilage, there are other treatment options:from the meniscal replacement with artificial implants or collagen meniscus transplant donor grafts

Also there are new treatments for focal cartilage lesions, as used with the stem cells of the bone itself and BST-Cargel, a product that is applied for cartilage repair procedures.