sad before meniscectomy

How I Found Out My Meniscus Repair Failed

by Rashida Bealin Meniscectomy Surgeryon Posted on

A full year after my initial knee surgery (ACL and medial and lateral meniscus surgery) I was playing again and felt like I had gotten past that injury.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. About 13 months after my first surgery, my medial meniscus repair failed. Looking back, the issue actually began much earlier. In this post, I will explain the entire story of how I discovered my medial meniscus repair failed. 

For more information on my original ACL and meniscus surgery, head to this post.

Key Takeaways

  • A little over one year after my original ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair, my meniscus re-tore.
  • I experienced concerning symptoms for months before confirming the meniscus tear.
  • My signs of meniscus tear included localized pain, increasing swelling, my knee catching, and my knee locking in a bent position.
  • I had to then get a partial meniscectomy.
  • There is not always a clear reason why the repair fails, and it’s a common problem.

My Experience Re-Tearing My Medial Meniscus

Here’s an overview of how I found out my meniscus repair didn’t work:

Unusual Knee Movement

To be clear, in my original surgery, I had both my medial and lateral meniscus repaired. 10 months post ACL and medial and lateral meniscus surgery, I was cleared to begin the return to sport protocol. This meant that I did not need to return to the surgeon again. However, she ordered that I finish 6 more weeks of physical therapy and slowly work back to full contact/playing. 

Up to this point, I did not notice anything particularly odd with my knee. Of course, it did not feel totally normal, but by the time I was cleared, I felt well on my way to making a full return.

Soon after getting cleared, I began to ease back into more soccer-specific workouts. After a few weeks, I was training 2v2s against people who knew my situation. Once when I went to defend, I cut hard off my leg and felt my knee shift in a way that did not feel normal. It definitely hurt a little bit, but nothing major. I was able to continue the practice, but later that day it started to become painful. 

PT Assessment of Meniscus Pain

Following that first weird shift, my knee started to hurt more and more over the next two days. It hurt right on the medial joint line, which concerned me. It was stiff and hard to get around that weekend.

However, after a few days of rest, it started to get better. The event happened on a Thursday, but by the time I went back to physical therapy on Tuesday, I did not really have any pain. 

Regardless, I was still concerned about the issue. I specifically asked my PT how to know if the meniscus repair failed.  Again, I was not really experiencing pain at that time. He checked over my knee and did a few functional tests. I had no problem with these, so my PT thought I had a lower hamstring issue and did not refer me for further examination. 

Recurring Knee Instability

After that PT appointment, I was relieved. One of my biggest fears after ACL/Meniscus surgery was that I would get reinjured. Based on the advice I received, I continued working back to soccer. Within the next month, I played my first 11v11 scrimmage with a local college team.

From March through the beginning of May, I was playing on a few local leagues. However, I continued to feel a weird shift in my knee on occasion. Whenever this happened, I did not experience pain, really, it was just an uncomfortable feeling of my knee shifting or catching. 

The Final Straw- Re-Tearing My Meniscus

13 months after my first surgery, my meniscus repair fully failed. I had plans to play on a summer team and interest from professional teams for mid-summer.

One week before I was supposed to leave for my summer team, I was playing in another scrimmage. In one moment, I lost the ball and did a 180° cut to win it back. Immediately when pushing off, I felt my knee catch in the same way, but this time with a sharp stab of pain. I finished the play but walked off immediately. 

My knee felt stiff and hurt very badly, again on the medial side. I was extremely worried and headed home. 

Waiting to Get an MRI

I headed home in a panic. It was a Saturday, so I knew I would not be able to get in anywhere until Monday. I could not fully straighten my knee, and it began to get more swollen and painful. I spent the weekend once again researching the injury and trying to figure out what happened.

While, I knew for sure my meniscus was damaged, but my biggest concern was if my ACL was intact. Each night that weekend, I could barely sleep from both nerves and the growing pain in my knee. 

My Failed Meniscus Repair 

On Monday, I was able to go into the orthopedic clinic. There, they did an exam and an x-ray. Of course, they did not see anything on the x-ray. The doctor thought it was likely a meniscus problem, and referred me to get an MRI.

For me, this did not alleviate the worry about my ACL. Luckily, I was able to schedule both my MRI and the appointment with my surgeon for the next day (Tuesday). 

I had my MRI in the morning and the meeting with my surgeon in the afternoon. At the appointment, my surgeon told me that my medial meniscus repair failed and the meniscus was torn. In fact, a piece was displaced which was locking my knee and preventing it from straightening.

She said that they will not attempt to re-repair the meniscus if the initial repair does not hold. Instead, they would perform a meniscectomy to remove the damage. In this case, there was no benefit to waiting, so my surgery was scheduled for that Friday. 

To learn about my meniscectomy surgery day, head to this post or this video. 

Why Did the Meniscus Repair Fail?

Unfortunately, I have not been given any reason as to why the initial repair failed. My lateral meniscus repair and ACL were perfectly fine, so what was the issue with my medial meniscus repair? 

The first thing to note is that meniscus repairs fail on a surprisingly frequent basis. One review from the National Health Institute looked at 12 studies and found that 19% fail.

The meniscus does not get much blood flow, and the doctor must decide if repair is even possible. It is best to repair it if at all possible, so she did take somewhat of a chance even trying to do that the first time. 

Another question I have is if my recovery protocol had an impact. Commonly, people with meniscus repairs are non-weight bearing for 4-6 weeks. I was told to weight bear as tolerated and was starting to put weight on it within a week and a half, and fully walking by three weeks. Did that early weight-bearing affect how the repair took and prevent it from lasting when I returned to my normal activity?

Did my early weight-bearing affect how the repair took and prevent it from lasting when I returned to my normal activity?

The other thing to remember is that some flukes just occur. I had a very very good surgeon with an incredibly high success rate. There is not always a clear reason or someone to blame when the recovery does not go as planned.

I followed every single guideline all the way through, and do not feel I personally could have done anything differently. 

Top Reasons Meniscus Repairs Don’t Work

  • Unknown reason/ unclear
  • Poor surgery technique
  • The meniscus did not get adequate blood flow during recovery
  • Disrupting the sutures before they take (ie walking too early)

Signs A Meniscus Repair Failed

Here are the top symptoms I experienced when my meniscus re-tore:

  • Pain along the medial joint line: Point-specific pain, right along the joint line by my meniscus.
  • Knee instability: I kept experiencing my knee “shifting” and “sliding” especially when attempting to cut with a high force.
  • Stiffness: After my knee would shift, it would get quite stiff and not move well.
  • Knee locking: I could not straighten my knee when my meniscus finally re-tore bad enough. It was locked in a partially bent position.
  • Pain worsening: My pain got worse in the hours and days after the re-tear.
  • Slow-onset swelling: My knee didn’t swell up right away, but it inflated more and more as time went on.

The Bottom Line: I Had A Partial Meniscectomy

Having my meniscus repair fail about a year after surgery was a very frustrating and scary experience. I’m very glad that my ACL repair was fine. While the whole ordeal lead to more delays and a second surgery, it was not the end of the world. I made it back from my partial meniscectomy about 3 months later, and returned to professional soccer.

There’s no clear reason why my medial meniscus repair did not work, but unfortunately, almost 1/5 of them do fail. The bottom line and my main takeaway is that you should listen to your concerns. If something does not feel right, push for a more detailed re-assessment.

FAQs About Meniscus Repair Failure

Why did your meniscus repair fail?

There’s no clear reason for my meniscus re-tear. Unfortunately, it is a common problem, caused in part because the meniscus does not get very good blood flow for healing.

When did your repair fail?

It began to fail about 10 months after my surgery, but that did not become clear until the meniscus tore very badly about 13 months after my initial surgery.

How do you know if a meniscus repair failed?

Some signs you re-tore your meniscus include localized pain, slow-onset swelling, knee instability (catching and shifting feeling), and a locked knee.

How often do meniscus repairs fail?

Meniscus repair failure is unfortunately common, with around 19% failing.

Meniscectomy Recovery After Meniscus Repair Failed

To follow my partial meniscectomy recovery, check out my blogs below or visit my YouTube channel.

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3