SignCaller'sMa,
My son hurt his knee last February playing hockey. The MRI showed a partially torn MCL with no damage to the meniscus. PT was prescribed for 8 weeks. Once returning to baseball, my son’s knee gave way and it locked in a bent position where he could not straighten it out. The new MRI then clearly showed that a piece of the torn meniscus was lodged in his knee joint, causing it to lock in a bent position. Surgery was performed three days later.
The orthopedic surgeon ideally would have liked to repair the meniscus, i.e. stitch it back together. This procedure would have required about 6-8 months of no sports in order to heal properly. However, once the surgeon looked at the knee through arthroscopy, it was too badly frayed to repair. So the surgeon did a 50% partial meniscectomy of the left medial meniscus. My son was able to start playing baseball about 6-8 weeks post surgery after another round of PT. He had a little bit of pain for a few weeks after he started playing again.
It is now 7 months after surgery and my son says his knee feels the same as it did before he hurt it. He played baseball most of the summer and all of the Fall. He is playing ice hockey again this season.
And yes, MRIs are not always accurate as in the case of our son’s first MRI. The first MRI also showed that my son’s ACL might be partially torn, but the surgeon took a look at the ACL with the scope during the meniscus surgery and it was perfectly normal.
Some athletes are able to return in 2-4 weeks after a partial meniscectomy. It took longer for my son because he hurt his knee twice before we learned what was wrong.
Good luck to your son!