Repair of "large" Bucket Handle tear in Medial Meniscus?

by rhys
(phx, az)

I saw my doctor and had an MRI done last week. He called me and said I had a "large" (and he emphasized large) bucket handle tear of my medial meniscus. The injury occurred 4 weeks ago. At first i wasn't able to straighten my knee because the torn cartilage had folded up and into my knee joint. I can move it pretty freely now though.

From what i've read i know that they usually only repair tears in the red vascular zone. I believe my is torn beyond this point. I am guessing that if they chose to excise it they would be removing nearly half of my meniscus.

Since the tear is so large will they opt for the repair surgery? I'm 22 yrs old and very active and athletic. I don't want arthritis in my twenties!

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Repair of "large" Bucket Handle tear in Medial Meniscus?

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Oct 27, 2008
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bucket handle tear
by: Bart - SII

Bucket handle tears are usually not repaired - they are longitudinal tears that have mobilized into the knee joint, and are usually located outside of the vascular red-red zone.

A meniscectomy is the likely surgery of choice for you, and although it will remove part of the meniscus, it will help reduce continued problems and it will prevent further tearing of the meniscus.

You will likely develop arthritis, but probably not in the near future - a knee surgery early in life means that you will have problems arthritic problems in your 50's or 60's instead of your 70's or 80's. A lot of it also depends on how active you are and how much wear and tear you put on your knees.

Bart

May 28, 2009
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I know what your going through
by: Anonymous

I had the same bucket handle tear in my medial meniscus and a ruptured ACL back in mid 2006 (16 years old). I had a meniscectomy (they removed 65%) along with an ACL reconstruction. I'm still active...I notice no difference at all. I'm still very active and am even joining the Defence Force shortly. As the other person said: although we will get early onset arthritus it isn't something that's going to appear in the next 5- 10 years closer to 20 in fact. Just start taking glucosamine. And stay cool.

Jul 17, 2009
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Good News for us
by:

My 17 yo son had surgery Thursday for a bucket handle tear and they ended up removing 50% of his meniscus. We are very concerned about what this means for him later on. He's both a football and baseball player. This gives me hope that he can play ball and still walk when he's 30.