A meniscus transplant, a rarely performed arthroscopic procedure, might help delay the onset of arthritis and relieve knee pain for young, active people.

“This can be a great procedure for someone under the age of 50 who has pain after a significant meniscal injury or multiple previous meniscus surgeries and is too young and active for a knee replacement,” says Patrick McCulloch, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with the Methodist Center for Sports Medicine in Houston, Tex.

“In some cases, the meniscus has been damaged so severely that it has to be removed. This surgery works for people who have no functioning meniscus and have limited damage to the cartilage surfaces of the joint.”

The meniscus is a piece of rubbery cartilage that sits between the bones in the knee and acts as a shock absorber and helps to stabilize the knee. People who have had the meniscus removed are more likely to see degenerative changes in the knee joint. This can cause the remaining cartilage that covers the bone to wear away, exposing the bone, which is extremely painful.

“When someone is left with little or no meniscus, we find an organ donor with the same size knee,” McCulloch says. “We transplant the meniscus into the patient’s knee and once it heals, the hope is that it will act like a normal meniscus and relieve pain.”

This technique is used to slow down the progression of arthritis in the knee. While some patients will eventually need a knee replacement, this procedure can give them a number of years of pain-free activity before this has to be considered.

“A meniscus transplant is an arthroscopic procedure, but patients can expect to be on crutches for four to six weeks and spend a few months in rehabilitation,” McCulloch says. “My focus is on joint restoration and procedures that regenerate cartilage in the knee. The meniscus transplant is another positive procedure that can relieve pain and keep people active.”

Source: The Methodist Hospital System