Years ago. The tear was from repeated soccer injuries. The recovery was very speedy - I was on my bike within one week, albeit spinning in a very easy gear. Good luck - knees are a tough joint.

Alicia

http://www.trisports.com

i had surgery in september to a)replace my ACL, which i tore, and b)remove part of my meniscus, which was damaged. basically, the meniscus part is a minor portion. i'm still rehabing, but because of the ACL operation, which is a much bigger deal.

i can say this much: there are operations to repair the meniscus; and there are operations to remove the damaged part. if you actually want the meniscus repaired, it has to be in certain parts of teh cartilege; only has a 70% chance of success, according to the doctor i saw; and requires that you spend a bunch of time (60 days? 6 weeks? something like that) w/out putting weight on the leg. i opted just to have the damaged section removed. i may regret that, though; it takes away some of the cushioning in there. not a big deal for biking or swimming, perhaps, but possibly a huge deal for running. i'll know more in a few months when the ACL rehab is further along.

Had mine and more done on the 30th of Nov.

Back on the bike 5 days later. Started back to running the 4th week and ran 24 miles total also rode around 200. I am now 6 weeks out and feeling about 99%.

I've had two done on the same knee. I have had about 40% of the meniscus removed. THe first surgery was also an ACL repair and it took me a year to get back from that one. The 2nd surgery was meniscus shaving/removal and I played a volleyball tournament 3 weeks after the surgery. The first surgery was done in 88 and the 2nd in 90. Since then I've done numerous races, some marathons and 50K and generally have no problems.

Occasionally I'll step wrong or get a bad angle and it will hurt like hell, but is generally short lived.

Rehab hard and smart

Good Luck

Dave

I had 3 tears in my lateral meniscus from soccer: one on each end that were actually separated somewhat, and one along the central axis. During the operation, the two end tears were trimmed, the central one was left alone. I could walk the same day, but got progressively more sore for the next several days. I think most of the soreness was from the incision in the quad.

I found easy biking to actually HELP with the stiffness. I used my mountain bike, so I was sitting pretty upright, and certainly not pushing the pace. When I showed up for PT a week after the operation, the therapist was impressed with my strength and flexibility in the joint, which I credit to the easy spinning.

Do a search, probably a million threads with this exact same subject line. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but at any rate check my response in this thread http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...earch_string;#675830 vague answer, but your question is pretty broad.

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Dan Hollingsworth

Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul." - Douglas MacArthur

I had Meniscus surgery in 2001 nine (9) weeks prior to IM Hawaii. I was able to run the entire marathon (although, not very fast since I had 0 runs longer than 30 minutes between July and race day in October.

If I remember correctlly, I was back in the pool in one week, back on my bike in two and the running was - well minimal until well after the race. Not really recommonded for those at home, but I was on a mission...

The key is to stay on the anti inflams and to get one of those Ice cooler machines that pump cold water around your knee. If you can keep the swelling to a minimum, your rehab will be much easier thus you be back on your feet faster.