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Meniscal Transplant

Answers to Your Health Questions by Lawrence S. Miller, M.D.

Q. What is a Meniscus?

A. The Meniscus is a fibrous cartilage tissue that sits between the thigh bone (femur) and shin bone (Tibia). The meniscus is attached to the Tibia and helps distribute weight across the joint.

Q. What happens if you don’t have a Meniscus?

A. When a knee joint has lost it’s meniscus, the hyaline cartilage (smooth covering of the bone) takes the brunt of the force of everyday movement and stress within the joint. This increased force leads to a wearing away of the surface.

Q. What is a Meniscal Transplant?

A. Meniscal Transplant is a surgical procedure which replaces the Meniscus of the Knee Joint with a  Human Cadaver Meniscus.

Q. Who is a candidate for Meniscal Transplantation?

A. Individuals who are young (40 years old or younger) and have had a Meniscal Injury and the Meniscus has been removed from the knee. There are strict criteria regarding who can become a candidate including minimal to no arthritic changes within the knee joint, no mal alignment and no ligament deficiency.

Q. How well does a Meniscal Transplant work?

A. Meniscal Transplantation has been a viable option for surgery for well over 16 years. The procedure works well for pain relief on those who have had symptoms of pain with minimal or no arthritic changes. Individuals with arthritic changes within the Knee joint prior to surgery have had poor outcomes.

Q. Does Meniscal Transplantation prevent Arthritis?

A. There are no current long term studies to fully answer this question. The meniscal transplation does improve the distribution of force across the knee, but it cannot return function to normal. Short term (5 year) studies have shown 60% to 70% good results in these very difficult cases.

Q. How is this procedure performed?

A. This surgery is usually done as an outpatient procedure under general anesthesia. The surgery is usually completed as a minimally invasive, arthoscopically assisted procedure. Small incisions are required for insertion and suturing of the meniscus.