What the meniscus does

Each knee has two menisci — C-shaped cartilage cushions that act as shock absorbers, spread your body weight across the joint, and help keep it stable. They work like a tensioned ring, anchored front and back by the roots.

Lose the meniscus, and the load concentrates onto a small patch of joint surface, which then wears out.

Tear types

Tears come in patterns — radial, horizontal, bucket-handle (which can lock the knee so it will not fully straighten), complex degenerative tears, and root tears.

A root tear detaches the meniscus’s anchor; because the ring loses its tension and slips out of the joint, a root tear behaves like losing the whole meniscus — yet it is one of the most commonly missed knee injuries. It often presents as a "pop" at the back of the knee from a simple squat or twist.

Preservation first — the principle that protects your knee

A meniscus that is simply trimmed away cannot be replaced, and removing even part of it raises the long-term risk of arthritis.

The published evidence is clear: for medial meniscus root tears, repair leads to far lower rates of arthritis at ten years than removal or leaving it alone, and is more cost-effective. Dr Yas’s approach follows the modern principle: repair and preserve the meniscus wherever it can be done.

When repair is possible vs not

Healing depends on blood supply — the outer rim heals well, the inner portion has little blood supply and usually cannot.

Clean peripheral and root tears are often repairable; ragged, worn tears in an already arthritic compartment may not be. There is no strict age cut-off — activity and the state of your cartilage matter more.

What repair involves

For a root tear, the meniscus is reattached to its proper spot on the bone with strong sutures passed through a small tunnel and secured — restoring the cushion’s anchor.

Recovery protects the repair (limited weight-bearing and deep bend for several weeks), with most returning to running around 5–7 months.