Studie zeigt, dass eine Knieoperation wegen Knorpelschaden den Patienten keinen Nutzen bringt. Menschen mit Meniskusrissen, die sich einer Operation unterzogen hatten, hatten nach 10 Jahren eine schlechtere Kniefunktion und schlimmere Arthrose als diejenigen, die nicht operiert wurden.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/apr/29/knee-surgery-cartilage-damage-patients-study
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Knee surgery for cartilage damage does not benefit patients, study suggests
People with meniscus tears who underwent surgery had poorer knee function and worse osteoarthritis after 10 years than those who did not
A common knee surgery for cartilage damage does not benefit patients and may lead to worse outcomes, a 10-year trial suggests.
The study tracked outcomes for patients treated for a meniscus tear, who were given a partial meniscectomy, one of the most common orthopaedic surgeries. Their trajectories were compared with patients who had randomly been assigned to receive “sham surgery”, in which no procedure was carried out.
Patients who had undergone the surgery, which involves trimming frayed meniscus tissue, did not appear to benefit and scored worse on a range of measures designed to measure knee function, pain and progression of symptoms.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2516079
id wager we’re gonna see more and more evidence of procedures like these, specifically for cartilage damage, being net negative as time goes forward
This is taught as a standard issue in pain management courses, I assume this is the long term follow-up. The new bit for me is that it’s worse, when I was taught it they were just saying no benefit.
Similar findings with back surgery for pain which is why it’s avoided more now.
I tore my knee a few years ago, and the doctor straight up told me that they could offer no surgery that would make it better in the long run. It would either get better naturally, or not at all.
So I have to assume that this has been known about for a while.
Anecdotally, my meniscus was torn playing football in high school. I had two surgeries on the knee and it will still lock up if it is put at an odd angle. I refused a third surgery and just learned how to move my leg to unlock my knee when it happens. Thankfully I don’t have lasting pain from the surgeries.
Tore my meniscus and LCL at 22, surgeon said I had 70% cartilage left after the surgery. I didn’t stay up with the PT after I regained normal movement and I have had issues with my knee ever since.
My experience is that the small muscles in the knee need to be maintained to take stress of the ligaments. Not keeping this up, my ligaments do all the work and swell and cause tightness in my hamstrings and calves.
Wish I rehabbed it back then vs surgery.
“But there’s a group who have a mechanical sensation of something catching – that group has a more predictable benefit.”
Yeah I’ve had that problem in each knee after separate incidents more than 15 years ago. Laparoscopic surgery was done in each case and my knees are pain free and working fine.
If it were for generalized pain, though, I can see that PT would be called for first. But it’s really no fun when you have your knee lock up and you go down like a ton of bricks.
Meniscus clean made my knee much worse. Knee cap replacement – that was amazing. Pain almost completely gone.
It’s a great example of his research and medical ethics can be counterintuitive.
Ha! Being poor has finally worked in my favor!
I hurt my knee over a decade ago and was fortunate enough to have a very good doctor as my primary.
He said the exact same thing to me as in this report.
That the evidence points to natural healing to being better with just about the same recovery time as surgery.
Best to not undergo that.
So I had crutches and gained a bunch of weight keeping my weight off that leg for months
Took awhile but I’m much better with a brace and a few friends to help me
I must be the exception, because I had surgery for a torn meniscus and my knee feels right as the rain.
I’m a physiotherapist. I’ve had these types on conversations many times with my patients. Generally speaking, conservative treatment is an ideal option for a majority of people. But there is definitely a place for surgery in specific circumstances
Small lateral meniscus tear and moderate to severe OA. Two Drs wanted to operate and a third suggested PT and occasional steroid injections. It’s been 3 years now and while I’m not able to exercise at the high level that I could pre injury, I’m relatively pain free during normal day to day activity and able to exercise at a fairly high level. Running and jumping are two things I no longer do
Good thing I never treated mine out of laziness and forgetting. I guess if it escaped my mind then that means I adapted well enough to it.
When I dislocated my knee and tore my meniscus my surgeon told me they could amputate the cartilage on that side of my knee. I asked how that could possibly help and they basically said it wouldnt
I want to add a success story where I got my meniscus operated on for a bucket tear many years ago, and it’s still pain-free today, with all of my mobility back. After the surgeon trimmed off some of it, I have never had problems since and haven’t had any locking when it was painful before surgery
Thank you, this helps explain why my Pop-Pop is in so much pain.
Does anyone know why doctors wait until patients are older to do full knee replacements?
I had a meniscus tear repaired (shaved smooth) one year ago. I’m regretting it already.
So having a clicking torn meniscus is better if it ain’t locking up or causing excess of pain?
Have had 3 knee surgeries over the years …. they’ve worked perfectly- have no issues today
Cartilage repair and meniscus repair are two different types of proceedures.
Tore mine years ago, it was locking, clicking and swelling so had the surgery. It was a long recovery time bug less painful afterwards. Got the other knee done less than a year later. Now thirty years later, they are both messed up, occasionally swell up and usually painful.
A lot of old timers will offer to go in surgically and “smooth out” cartilage tears; it’s not an effective surgery. There are things such as the MACI procedure that use your own cartilage harvested from a non-weightbearing area of the knee and implanted in a cartilage defect. This is an effective surgery however they criteria to get this type of surgery is very strict.
I’m simplifying things but that’s the gist of it
Anecdotally I concur as someone who hears a pop in my knee at one point just bending over to pick up my phone at the gym. A couple years later, hundreds of miles ran and biked and many lift sessions later, feels fine unless I bend at the exact right angle. I doubt surgery would have done much better than that
No kidding!!! +20 years post double surgery. The gel injections help, but I need MORE!