How I Do a Meniscus Transplant
In this video, I walk you through a meniscus transplant.
Preparing the graft
I start by marking the donor meniscus — the anterior end, posterior end, and top surface — so its orientation is unmistakable once it's inside your knee.
Both ends are then detached from their bone blocks, and sutures are applied to each end.
What's left is the fully prepared graft, ready for insertion.
Preparing your knee to receive it
With the camera in the joint, I prepare the meniscus periphery and the insertion site for the posterior root, using curettes and shavers to create a clean surface for the new meniscus to attach to.
I then drill a posterior root tunnel and pass sutures across it, followed by an anterior root tunnel with sutures passed the same way.
These two tunnels are what will anchor the new meniscus's roots in anatomically correct position, just as its own roots once sat.
Bringing the graft in
With both tunnels prepared, I bring the meniscus allograft into the joint and begin securing it — a process that takes many sutures, not just one or two.
I place a series of inside-out sutures along the body of the meniscus, one after another, to fix it firmly to the capsule at multiple points. I supplement these with all-inside sutures, including at the posterior horn, and use an all-inside device to help shape the meniscus into its correct anatomical form.
Further inside-out and all-inside sutures follow along the anterior horn and body, until the meniscus is fixed at seven separate points along its length.
This layering of fixation — root tunnels, inside-out sutures, and all-inside sutures together — is what gives the transplant its stability.
On final evaluation, the transplanted meniscus sits securely, and the before-and-after photo shows a joint that has gone from missing its meniscus to having one restored in its place.
Feel free to drop me a message if you have any further questions.