Meniscus Tear

I am 19 years old and I am having my third meniscus surgery. The first meniscus surgery the doctor tried to repair it but the meniscus ended up tearing again. For the second surgery the doctor removed 30% of the medial meniscus. And now I went to another orthopedic doctor to get a second opinion and it turns out that the meniscus is torn once more in the same place. The doctor wants to remove more of my meniscus but I am scared that if he removes more of the meniscus that I will continue to have problems with my knee and the meniscus. I don't know if I should have another meniscetomy or ask for a complete meniscus transplantation. Can any one help me? My surgery is on December 18.

Thank You.

[Dr_Veena]

Hi,
    Thanks for writing in. As you are already aware there are two types of treatment for meniscal tear, one in repair of the torn meniscus and the other is removal of the damaged meniscus. Meniscal repair is a procedure, that can restore the normal anatomy of the knee, and has a better long-term prognosis when successful. However, the meniscus repair is a more significant surgery, the recovery is longer, and, because of limited blood supply to the meniscus, it is not always possible.
Meniscectomy,  has a faster recovery, but it can lead to trouble years down the road because of the absence of the normal meniscus. It can predispose the patient to arthritis and can lead to continuos damage to the cartilage in that joint.
You need to discuss with your doctor regarding the percentage of success of meniscectomy if done in that particular area, where the damage has occured. If there are more chances of recurrence then, meniscal transplant may be considered,and also as you are young.
Take care.

[Sondell]

I had a my left knee scoped on Aug 22nd and I returned to work Nov 23. My Dr had me limited to 6 hrs shift, but I work retail so of course I've been having to work longer hours than that. So know my knee is swollen and I'm having pain in the again shooting through the back of my knee and sharp shooting pains in the inner knee joint. I'm also having numbness in my foot as well. I called the Dr office and they bumped up my Dr visit. Any advice?