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Meniscus Surgery (meniscectomy) is an arthroscopic procedure performed to remove damaged meniscal tissue when repair is not possible or appropriate. The meniscus is the C-shaped cartilage that acts as a shock absorber in the knee, and when torn, it can cause pain, swelling, and mechanical symptoms like locking or catching.
While meniscus repair is preferred to preserve tissue, some tears are not repairable due to location (inner white zone with no blood supply), pattern, or tissue quality. In these cases, partial meniscectomy removes only the damaged portion while preserving as much healthy meniscus as possible.
At Mountain Spine & Orthopedics, our knee specialists use minimally invasive arthroscopic techniques to remove damaged tissue while preserving healthy meniscus, optimizing outcomes and minimizing the risk of future knee arthritis.
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View all knee conditions and treatment options →There are two meniscus operations and they are almost opposites. One stitches the tear so the meniscus heals; the other trims away the torn part. The choice is not a preference — it is dictated by whether the tear is in tissue that can heal at all.
Blood supply decides it. The meniscus is only vascular at its outer rim. Tears there have a blood supply and can knit. Tears toward the inner edge do not, and stitching tissue that cannot heal simply produces a repair that fails later.
Tear pattern matters. Clean vertical tears in the outer zone are the classic repairable pattern. Complex, degenerative or flap tears in older tissue generally are not.
Age and tissue quality. Not a rule about the patient's age so much as the tissue's. A traumatic tear in a young athlete's healthy meniscus is a different proposition from a degenerative tear in a meniscus that has been wearing for decades.
What else is going on in the knee. A tear alongside an ACL reconstruction has a better healing environment. A tear in a knee with established arthritis is often not the main problem at all.
Repair asks more of the patient — a longer protected recovery, because tissue has to heal. Removal is faster to recover from but takes away meniscus permanently. See meniscus repair surgery for the repair procedure in detail.
This procedure may help with:
A fair question, and the honest answer is that it depends entirely on which tear you have.
Many degenerative tears settle. Tears that appear gradually without a clear injury are common findings in knees that have no symptoms at all. Where symptoms exist, they often improve with time and activity modification, and a torn meniscus on a scan is not by itself a reason to operate.
Some tears do not settle, and a few should not be left. A fragment that displaces into the joint can physically block the knee from straightening. That is a mechanical problem that does not resolve on its own and is one of the clearer indications for surgery.
The long-term consideration. The meniscus distributes load across the joint surface. A knee that has lost meniscal tissue — whether to a tear or to surgery removing it — carries load over a smaller area. This is why preserving meniscus is preferred where the tear allows it, and why removal is not treated as a free option.
What tips the decision toward surgery: true mechanical symptoms such as locking or catching, a knee that will not fully straighten, and symptoms that have not improved with a genuine period of non-operative management.
Recovery from meniscectomy is typically faster than meniscus repair since the tissue doesn't need to heal—only the surgical sites need to recover.
Phase 1 (Weeks 1-2): Weight-bearing as tolerated, range of motion exercises, and control of swelling. Most patients walk comfortably within days.
Phase 2 (Weeks 2-4): Progressive strengthening, restoration of normal gait, and return to most daily activities.
Phase 3 (Weeks 4-6): Advanced strengthening, return to low-impact activities, and initiation of sport-specific exercises.
Phase 4 (Weeks 6-8): Return to full activities and sports, typically around 6-8 weeks when strength and range of motion milestones are met.
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Our board-certified specialists offer meniscus surgery (meniscectomy) evaluation and treatment at locations across Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. Schedule a consultation at a clinic near you.
