Meniscus Surgery: Risks, Complications & What to Expect

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.