Risks & Complications of Meniscus Surgery

Antibiotics reduce the risk of infection in meniscus surgery.

Modern techniques make surgical repair of a meniscus cartilage a relatively simple procedure, but as with practically any surgery, risks and complications remain.

Meniscus Surgery

According to Quest Diagnostics, surgery to repair the meniscus cartilage in the knee joint may call for either traditional open surgery, or minimally-invasive arthroscopic surgery. In both procedures, surgeons stitch-up the torn cartilage with dissolvable sutures.

Infection

Infection at the surgery site can occur, but the antibiotics administered before the procedure lower the risk.

Injury

Surgery can result in nerve damage, usually in the skin. This complication tends to heal within three months of the procedure. Damage to deeper nerves rarely occurs.

Clots

Blood clots may form in the leg after surgery. A three-month program of blood-thinning medication can lower the risk of clots migrating to the lungs.

Anesthesia

Meniscus surgery may involve either general or local anesthesia. The Mayo Clinic warns that general anesthesia carries risks, ranging from disorientation to a fatal heart attack or stroke, especially in older people. Very rarely, a patient may suffer an allergic reaction to the local anesthetic.

References

• Quest diagnostics: Meniscus repair
• Mayo Clinic: General anesthesia
• University of Michigan Health System: Arthroscopic Meniscal Surgery