Football player successfully undergoes meniscus transplant surgery

Bengaluru: A 22-year-old football enthusiast suffering from meniscus tear along with meniscus loss in the right knee successfully underwent a one-of-its-kind procedure at Fortis Hospital, Cunningham Road.

The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of tough, rubbery cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between the shinbone and the thighbone. The team of doctors led by Dr Raghu Nagraj, Senior Consultant - Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement Surgeon, performed meniscus transplant procedure to prevent further complications and knee replacement at an early stage. The meniscus tear is a result of sport-related injury often seen in athletes. Meniscal transplant surgery is performed to replace missing or damaged meniscus with a meniscus from a cadaver donor.

The 22-year-old had visited Fortis with severe pain and instability in the right knee, owing to multiple injuries while playing football. The patient was self-treating himself over a period of time, which led to delay in diagnosis of meniscus tear and resulted in heavy loss of meniscus. As a result, he required an urgent meniscus transplant.

As per medical literature, partial or complete loss of the meniscus might result in early development of severe knee pain followed by osteoarthritis. While the primary goal of treatment for meniscus deficient knees is to provide symptomatic relief, ideally to delay advanced joint space narrowing, the end goal is to perform a transplant to prevent joint replacement at an early stage.

Approximately, one-third of all tears are associated with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, more commonly in patients aged 11 to 30 years, as a result of a traumatic athletic injury.

Dr Raghu Nagraj said, "The young boy had suffered a meniscus tear along with a significant loss of meniscus as a result of a delay in seeking treatment. The patient underwent Meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT) which restores stability to the knee in patients suffering from a meniscus tear and loss. The transplant benefits the patient largely as it replaces damaged cartilage, relieves knee pain and improves the way the knee works. If the transplant wasn't performed on time, he would have developed severe osteoarthritis and would require knee replacement at an early stage which is not recommended."

For this young patient, we arranged for meniscus cadaver and bone from abroad for the precise size and seamless matching. In India, it is very challenging to find a perfect size meniscus cadaver along with a bone that's why we preferred importing it from US. Meniscus with bone preserves the meniscus's longevity and blood circulation in the joints. It gives me immense pleasure to see this young sports enthusiast improving every day and very soon he will be able to resume his sports activities normally."

If an individual sustains a sports injury, it is always advisable to consult a doctor and avoid self-treatment as it can result in internal injuries and other complications. Early diagnosis of meniscus injury can help in better treatment at an early stage and would avoid the need for a meniscus transplant.