I tore my meniscus back in October of 2015, not kite surfing but working on a boat. Since this time I have rehabilitated but that strong secure feeling that you need for jumping and taking risks has never returned. The knee doesn't hurt on a daily basis and I have been kitesurfing again once since the injury but had to keep the board firmly on the water (no jumping) and the choppy water made me feel really nervous to ride.
Is there anyone out there who has had an operation on there meniscus and is happy with the outcome and result? A lot of what I read online about post op is pretty negative.
Please your thoughts
Been there, done that.
Tore mine playing baseball, was on crutches for a couple of weeks until the swelling went down and the flexibility returned, I thought I was good to go, and was for awhile. When you tear the meniscus, which is supposed to be in a stationary position, usually the smaller part that tore off is now floating in the knee joint. As long as it stays in position, you may recover w/o any surgery, but it will take awhile requiring babying the knee.
As soon as I felt better, I went back to my baseball team saying "I'm back!".
Very first batting practice, I swung, hit the ball, but went down in a heap, it felt like I got shot in the knee. The twisting during the swing made the floating part of the meniscus jamb into the joint, I couldn't straighten out my leg all the way, and could only bend it about 30 degrees, the knee was jammed.
No choice, in the hospital the next day. They removed the floating bit, freeing up the knee, on crutches again, but for about a month this time.
That was about 35 years ago, been windsurfing ever since. The doc said that the knee would return to about 80%, he was right, but I could sail, still do, as well as getting some air. However I wear a neoprene knee brace under my wetsuit to counter the threat of hyperextension (the knee going past straight) that can still happen if I'm not careful. So for me it became a new reality, but not a total heart break, and I understand that it's something that has better outcomes than what I went thru with 35 year old technology.
So no more baseball after that, it's dangerous, and no more running, never liked running anyway.
Skiing, biking, surfing, windsurfing, and SUP surfing, no problem but careful.
If it's just a small tear, and not a piece come off like Mastbender, I'd say leave it alone if it's not causing you problems. I tore mine years ago, and spent some time doing exercises to strengthen and stabilise my knee. It took some time for me to gradually build up confidence in my knee again, and part of that was related to building the strength and learning to subconsciously 'brace' my leg with my muscles in certain positions. For those that start getting bits cut out, it can be a slippery slope that ends with bone on bone eventually. Of course if you are in daily pain, then you probably need to think about getting something done, but the less intrusion the better if possible.
Ask your surgeon. A good surgeon will give you an honest answer.
In my case I had a knee injury that gave constant pain. The surgeon fixed it.
I went back later with intermittent pain and the surgeon recommended no surgery.
For minor damage there is no evidence that surgery helps.
Select to expand quoteHamokitesurfing said..
I tore my meniscus back in October of 2015, not kite surfing but working on a boat. Since this time I have rehabilitated but that strong secure feeling that you need for jumping and taking risks has never returned. The knee doesn't hurt on a daily basis and I have been kitesurfing again once since the injury but had to keep the board firmly on the water (no jumping) and the choppy water made me feel really nervous to ride.
Is there anyone out there who has had an operation on there meniscus and is happy with the outcome and result? A lot of what I read online about post op is pretty negative.
Please your thoughts
I've had a lifetime of knee-wearing sports with hockey into my 50's and still playing squash in my 60's so both knees have had a hard life. I've had bucket-handle cartilage tears in both knees and had had 3 arthroscopies between 1991 and 2010. ( FYI www.MiamiSportsMed.com have some good pictures and explanations). In a nutshell, the cartilage between your femur ( thigh bone) and your tibia and fibula (lower leg bones) is like a rolled-up condom....thick round the edge and thin in the middle. Often the thin, middle bit, gets a tear where the torn edge "sits up" and stops things in your knee moving smoothly. Surgery might either remove this tear by trimming it up or by sewing it back together.
If your knee "locks" or if things are gradually getting worse it's usually a sign that further damage is occurring.
Struggling on could well be the wrong thing to do, as your knee may get further damaged by it "letting go" suddenly when you put pressure on it at the wrong time and place. Then you might well do some really serious damage, possibly necessitating more invasive or even major surgery. Arthroscopic meniscetomy is usually a minimally invasive and highly successful procedure IN SKILLED HANDS. ( remember the dodgy 5%)
My knee(s) first started getting stiff when getting out of the car or getting up in the morning, started aching at bit and never felt quite right after the initial injury and/or pain and it was clear to me that something would need to be done as nothing was resolving and was, in fact, gradually worsening. First time was right knee in1991...no good local orthopods so I went to North Shore Sports Med Specialist clinic in Sydney ..surgery...crutches for a coupla weeks. Good recovery and all 100% OK....back to sport without any worries. Same thing left knee 2002 with Dr Peter Myers in Brisbane...same tear...same op, same good result. Had to have my right knee done again ( out of warranty after 19 years) in 2010 with Peter Myers as I tore more cartilage...op was 100% good altho' he told me that as there wasn't much cartilage left I had "bone-on-bone" in the right knee and there were signs of osteoarthritis ( upmarket wear and tear!) that might be a problem in my later life. He suggested I take up chess. 
6 years on and I get no symptoms from either knee while squashing, sailing, running or drinking. The rest of my carcass is, however, falling apart bit by bit!
Top knee guy in Queensland used to be ( and still might be) Dr Peter Myers in BrisVegas. Was the go-to-man for the Brisbane Bullets, Queensland Reds, Broncos etc, etc.
Always be aware that, for surgeons, like all trades, professions and "experts", the Bell Curve rule applies.........so, out of a 100 surgeons, maybe 5 will be really excellent, 90 will be one side or other of average and 5 will be dead-set useless. That's just the way life is, rightly or wrongly. The number 1 thing to do, therefore, is to ensure you avoid the useless 5 ! I was lucky to have a number of friends who were medicos, nurses and physios who could advise me and when they all independently were saying the same name it was easy for me to decide who to see ( and thereby avoid the dodgy ones 
). And, just for the record, whilst the best surgeons are not often the cheapest around they are seldom the most expensive. That spot is usually held by true shonk surgeons, who think they are great, who tell everybody they are great but, in fact, are very, very ordinary!!!
Hope it goes well for you Hamo
My left knee used to cause me grief when I was a truckie,
After driving for a stretch I would go to get out of the cab - and my knee would be locked.
It made it ruddy difficult to get out from behind the steering wheel and down to ground level - and my dodgy gymnastics hanging off the bullbar to get the knee unlocked would have made a ripper 
video.
The vet that sorted my shoulder, did my carpal tunnel, guyons canal and left funnybone nerve switcheroo got volunteered to nibble the knackered floating meniscus out of my knee.
Problem more or less solved - no more locking, but does feel a bit wierd every now and then.
I avoid heavy impact and twisting - but regular exercise makes a huge difference.
stephen
Had mine done 19 days ago went out today flat water not in waves. A bit nervous to start but ended up no problems. Best thing is all the pain is gone which I put up with for over a year. My meniscus was torn on one side and buckled over on the other side all good now.
it takes a while but you'll come good. I thought my knee would never be the same when I first injured it but it's been fine. Once you have no pain do some strengthening exercises. I used to do single leg squats (only to 45 deg or higher) to strengthen quad a few times a day. standing in line etc. makes a big difference
Select to expand quotemyusernam said..
it takes a while but you'll come good. I thought my knee would never be the same when I first injured it but it's been fine. Once you have no pain do some strengthening exercises. I used to do single leg squats (only to 45 deg or higher) to strengthen quad a few times a day. standing in line etc. makes a big difference
absolutely +1 that!
Select to expand quoteWazzaYotty said..myusernam said..
it takes a while but you'll come good. I thought my knee would never be the same when I first injured it but it's been fine. Once you have no pain do some strengthening exercises. I used to do single leg squats (only to 45 deg or higher) to strengthen quad a few times a day. standing in line etc. makes a big difference
absolutely +1 that!
2nd that.
Surgery is just apart of the "fixing process".
Ive had shoulder and knee surgeries and was meticulous with my rehab and both knee and shoulder are good as gold.
Ive seen people not do their rehab properly and have had on-going issues since and even further surgeries.
Get acouple of professional opinions...when I tore my had bad pain the first surgeon wanted to jump straight in and operate nearly did...second surgeon advised ongoing rehabilitation and after 2 months of exercising the area knee was 95 % original.
DO NOT GET SURGERY!!!
I was 50 yo, fit as, training every day, surfing, cycling, weights, martial arts, swimming etc. I was the original exercise/health freak. Had medial and lateral partial meniscectomy and have had a total change in lifestyle.
Cant run, cycle or train regularly. ALWAYS behind the eight ball. Cannot tell how much to do or not. sometimes exercise eases the pain, sometimes aggravates it.
I have varying degrees of pain ALL the time which is far worse that pre-surgery.
What they don't tell you is all the extra "cleaning up" that they do while you are under. Such as re-shaping the knee cap, tendon releases etc. These things didn't bother me before. (BTW, I had excellent joint spaces prior to surgery). Finally saw the supposed guru who told me exactly the above, "time would have healed it".
I would love to try stem cells, but having had cancer cancels it out.
