What does the meniscus do?
These meniscus functions to distribute your body weight across the knee joint. Without the meniscus present, the weight of your body would be unevenly applied to the bones in your legs (the femur and tibia). This uneven weight distribution would cause excessive forces in specific areas of bone leading to early arthritis of knee joint. Therefore, the function of the meniscus is critical to the health of your knee.

What happens with a meniscus tear (torn cartilage)?
The two most common causes of a meniscus tear are due to traumatic injury (often seen in athletes) and degenerative processes (seen in older patients who have more brittle cartilage). The most common mechanism of a traumatic meniscus tear occurs when the knee joint is bent and the knee is then twisted.

It is not uncommon for the meniscus tear to occur along with injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the medial collateral ligament (MCL)-these three problems occurring together are known as the "unhappy triad," which is seen in sports such as football when the player is hit on the outside of the knee.

The most common symptoms of a meniscus tear are:

• Knee pain
• Swelling of the knee
• Tenderness when pressing on the meniscus
• Popping or clicking within the knee
• Limited motion of the knee joint

How is arthroscopic surgery performed?
Arthroscopic surgery is a procedure that is used to look inside a joint. Through one small incision (about 1 centimeter) a small camera, about the size of a pencil, is inserted into the joint. Then using one or more other small incisions, your surgeon places other instruments inside the knee to remove the torn cartilage.

When can I return to sports?
It depends on your comfort level. For most menisectomies, patients can resume their activities as tolerated. For most patients, this means returning to normal walking within a few days to a week, returning to jogging within a month, and returning to sports within 4-8 weeks. Some patients take longer, others are quicker