The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of fibrocartilage located at the peripheral aspect of the knee joint that offers lubrication and nutrition to the joint. Each knee has two menisci, medial and lateral, whose purpose is to provide space between the tibia and the femur, preventing friction and allowing for the diffusion of articular cartilage. The majority of the meniscus has no blood supply. As a result, if the meniscus is damaged, from trauma or with age, it is unable to undergo the body’s normal healing process. Therefore, a torn piece can begin to move inside the joint, get caught between the bones, and cause pain, swelling, and decreased mobility. However, recent research has called into question whether many meniscus tears actually cause pain or are simply part of the normal degenerative process of aging. A 2008 study in the New England Journal of Medicine which shows that about 60% of meniscus tears cause no pain and are found in asymptomatic subjects. The three major treatments for a damaged meniscus are repair, removal, and transplantation. The surgery is often carried out arthroscopically.
Meniscal cartilage replacement therapy
Knee cartilage replacement therapy
Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction
Articular cartilage stem cell paste grafting
Stem cell transplantation for articular cartilage repair
Gene therapy for osteoarthritis
Finger joint replacement
Joint replacement