An intact and well functioning meniscus is critical for the health of the knee. While many tears of the meniscus are degenerative in nature and not really appropriate for repair, there are tears that can be successfully repaired with sutures. In general, the blood supply to the meniscus is limited to the peripheral 35-30%. Tears in this vascular area are often repaired. There are also certain situations where a meniscus repair is attempted because the alternative would result in complete loss of meniscus function. Meniscus repairs are successful in approximately 70% of patients, and the success increases to 90% when a meniscus is repaired at the same time as an ACL reconstruction.

Watch these videos of knee arthroscopies with medial meniscus repair

Watch this video of a medial meniscus root repair