Meniscus knee surgery (arthroscopy): cost, duration and step by step

• Meniscus knee surgery’s main goal is to repair a meniscus injury through a minimal invasive procedure.
• The duration of meniscus surgery via arthroscopy can vary depending on a number of factors, such as the severity of the tear or whether there is associated damage.
• The cost of arthroscopy of meniscus surgery includes everything needed to perform the procedure.

Meniscus knee surgery by arthroscopy is performed in patients that have suffered a tear of the meniscus, and in his/her case a conventional treatment is not the right one for its repair.

This type of tear can occur in both young people and older adults, with the most common cause being trauma during sport.

There are two types of meniscus tears:

• Traumatic meniscus tear: this type of tear usually occurs in young adults, between 20 and 40 years of age, the main cause being a blow or bad movement during the practice of a sport.
• Degenerative meniscus tear: in this case, this type of tear has a higher incidence in people between 40 and 70 years of age and is due to the fact that the meniscus has been suffering wear and tear over the years and can tear during an apparently normal, non-traumatic movement such as climbing a step.

Symptoms of Meniscus tear

The symptoms of meniscus tear are easily recognisable, even though it always should be certified by a professional who confirms a diagnostic for meniscus tear.

These common symptoms are the following:

• Intense pain in the knee: after the snapping/cracking felt in the knee at the time of the tear, the meniscus injury often continues with sharp pain in the area that increases with weight bearing or pressure on the area.
• Joint effusion: formation of a haematoma, although this is not always the case.

A meniscus injury is a tear in the semicircular cartilage located in the knee’s articulation, causing continuous pain in the knee’s interior.

• Mechanical locking: after the moment of the injury, the patient is unable to flex the knee because it gets locked. Although this mobility may later improve, the discomfort is likely to remain.
• Discomfort: especially when turning, twisting or squatting.

Once a specialist has determined that you suffer from a meniscus tear, after taking the diagnostic tests necessary to complete a diagnosis, the traumatologist will recommend the patient surgical treatment or a non-surgical one, depending on the tear conditions and the patient’s lifestyle habits. 

Treatment of a meniscal tear often begins with a conservative approach, depending on the type, size and location of the injury.

Injuries such as tears which are related to arthritis generally improve over time under arthritis treatment, in these cases, surgery is not usually recommended. Many other types of tears that are not related to trauma or a block that prevents movement of the knee become less painful over time, so they also do not require surgery.

The specialist may recommend:

Meniscus surgery via arthroscopy

In cases where the patient practises a sport on a regular basis, the patient is young or the injury has been caused by in the avascular zone of the meniscus (internal), surgery is generally recommended since it’s the best option for the patient to regain his quality life as soon as possible. 

Tears that occur in the avascular zone do not regenerate as they do not receive blood.

Conservative non-surgical treatment of the meniscus (RICE)

On the other hand, in the event that the patient does not practise sport on a regular basis and the injury has occurred on the periphery of the meniscus, not the inside, conservative treatment may be recommended, as this area is vascularised and receives blood supply, so it can regenerate itself.

The RICE method basically consists of following the guidelines of: Rest + Ice + Compression + Elevation.

In any case, the most common treatment for meniscus tears is arthroscopic repair surgery.

The duration of meniscus surgery via arthroscopy may last between 30 and 90 minutes, even though it depends on different elements. 

However this length of time only addresses the repair of the meniscus; if the patient also has a ligament tear, the surgery time will be higher. 

The elements that influence in the duration of the surgery are the following:

Surgeon’s skills

Although virtually all specialists in orthopaedic and trauma surgery are capable of performing arthroscopic meniscus surgery successfully, depending on their experience in this technique, they will be more or less skilled. This is why if a surgeon has a lot of experience, the duration will be shorter than if he or she has little experience.

Type of torn meniscus

As we have aforementioned, it is likely that a torn meniscus is caused in the vascularised area of the same or in the non-vascularised one. This difference will determine the technique to perform to repair the tear, since there are two different techniques: meniscal suture and meniscectomy.

• Meniscus suture: in this case, the tear to be repaired has been caused in the vascularised area of the meniscus, thus through suture, its regeneration can be achieved as happens with any wound in the skin. This technique takes more time than the meniscectomy.
• Meniscectomy: this technique consists of the removal of part of the meniscus when the injury is located in the non-vascularised area. This technique is quicker to perform than the meniscus suture; although sometimes the surgeon decides to perform a mix of both techniques to repair the tear. Total meniscectomy is strongly contraindicated as it may accelerate the onset of early osteoarthritis.

As we have said previously, the surgery is expected to last between 30-90 minutes, however if the surgeon needs to perform a mix of both techniques, surgery time will be longer.

First of all, you book a surgical assessment consultation with one of our trauma and orthopaedic surgeons, through our website.

You can ask for an appointment by clicking on the “Make an appointment” button, or filling our contact form here.

Once you have attended the appointment and the surgeon has confirmed the intervention and technique, our patient service team will contact you to inform you about the schedule and coming appointments of the patient’s surgical procedure. 

The first step is to attend the preoperative appointment which consists of the following tests:

• Electrocardiogram: This test allows the doctor and anaesthetist to know the patient's cardiovascular health.
• Blood test: it is necessary to determine if there is any sign of infection, which would cause a delay in surgery until it is under control.
• Chest X-ray: This test is only performed if the doctor considers it appropriate and will ensure that there is no infection and that the trachea is correctly aligned, in case intubation is required.

Once you have completed the preoperative study and visited the anaesthetist to check the results from the previous tests, you will wait for surgery day.

On the day of admission, our Patient Service team will have handled and scheduled everything for you, and you will just have to go to the hospital with the required documentation and hand it over to the admission staff so they can start preparing you for the intervention:

Meniscus surgery is performed under general or regional anaesthesia

• First of all, the patient will be placed in the position indicated by the surgeon and the anaesthesia will be administered.

• Once the anaesthesia takes effect, the doctor will disinfect the knee area, where the incisions that will be used to introduce the arthroscope and the rest of the necessary instruments will be made.
• He will then make 3 or 4 mini-incisions in the joint area, to first inject a saline solution through a cannula into the area so that it remains sufficiently wide and clean during the surgery for the surgeon to see through the arthroscope with total clarity. This improves the surgeon's manoeuvrability and visibility and reduces the chance of damaging other elements of the knee. 
• The next step is to insert the arthroscope through one of the incisions and check the inside of the knee.
• An arthroscope is a tool with a tiny camera on one end connected to a monitor via fibre optics, allowing the surgeon to see inside and repair the meniscus.

• Meniscal repair can be done by suturing or removing the damaged part of the meniscus.
• Both meniscal suturing and meniscectomy are performed by inserting surgical instruments through the incisions made at the beginning of the surgery, with the doctor observing the interior through the monitor connected to the arthroscope.
• Once the meniscal tear has been repaired, the surgeon removes the arthroscope along with the other instruments, drains the fluid from inside the knee and sutures the small incisions made.

If the tear is in the vascular area of the meniscus, an attempt is made to preserve as much tissue as possible by suturing it.

The next step is to wake the patient up, which is always done in the operating theatre, and then take them to the recovery room where they will remain until their vital signs are completely stabilised. Later, the patient is taken to his/her private room.

The duration of meniscus surgery ranges from approximately 30 to 90 minutes, although it depends on the severity of the injury and the different factors explained in this article.

In Operarme, we offer our patients a fixed all-inclusive price for Meniscus surgery by Arthroscopy which includes everything necessary for the process to be performed as safely as possible.

Do you need meniscus knee surgery?

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The cost of a Meniscus knee surgery by Arthroscopy through Operarme is 3.790 €, including the following services:

• Pre-operative study, including blood tests, electrocardiogram and, if requested by the specialist, a chest X-ray.
• Medical and assistant fees until medical discharge.
• Anaesthetist's fees, anaesthesia and necessary medical gases.
• Stay in a private room with a spare bed for a companion, hotel and laundry services only for the patient for 1 day.
• Hygiene and care products for the patient, disposable and non-disposable, and food for the patient during the stay.
• Expenses related to the surgical procedure: Booking and use of the operating theatre, medical instruments, equipment, consumables and medications specific to the surgical procedure (not cytostatics or monoclonal antibodies or derivatives).
• Complementary tests during the hospital stay (analysis, electrocardiogram or chest x-ray).
• Post-surgical recovery room stay, monitoring and necessary treatments.
• Post-surgery visit with the surgeon.
• Medical complications insurance, which covers possible eventualities such as the need for an extra day of hospitalisation. Learn more about this insurance service here

We also offer you the possibility of a transfer service to take you to the hospital on the day of admission, and from the hospital to your home on the day of discharge (you can read the conditions of the free transfer service here); as well as support and help of our patient service team, who will guide you and answer any concerns you may have, as well as managing the whole process so that you only have to worry about your health and getting better. 

We remind you that you can request a free assessment consultation with one of our specialists to assess your case and treat your hernia problem as soon as possible. 

If you are thinking of having surgery but don't know which doctor or hospital to go to, Operarme makes things easier for you by providing you with a free surgical assessment consultation.

You can meet our Specialist in Traumatology and Orthopaedic Surgery in your city, tell him/her about your case, review your reports and medical tests, confirm that you require the intervention and together decide to solve the hernia problem once and for all.

If you need more information about how we work or the Specialist Surgeon we work with in your city, you can contact our Patient Service Team through our contact form, indicating your email address and telephone number.

Assess your meniscus problem with a surgeon

Request a free and immediate surgical consultation with our specialist in Traumatology.

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