Meniscal Tear - May Need Surgery

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  wei13 on 30/11/2017 - 18:06

  +9

  It will be difficult to find a private health fund to cover for your preexisting tear, that's not how insurance works. Otherwise possibly need to serve a long waiting period.

  Also PHI will not cover private consultation fees if your doctor charges it. It is mainly for inpatient hospital care.

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  Azrael169 on 30/11/2017 - 18:21

  +1

  Private insurance will have a mandatory 1 year waiting period. If your tear is bad enough it may happen via public system before that 1 year period is up depending on where you live… Though i have seen public hospitals refuse to do meniscal repairs in the past.

  What do you do for a living? Do you play sport? A latearl tear will cause some ongoing issue if your running around trying to play sport etc. If you work in a office and arnt that active anymore it will likely settle down over a couple months with just physio and rehab (though the tear always runs the risk of flaring and causing issues again). If you have a physical job though you definitely need to get it done.

  Alot of factors come into play. Age, occupation, weight, fitness level etc

  • 

    carlJack on 30/11/2017 - 19:09

    In a meniscus injury a torn piece can get stuck in the knee joint leading to locking of the knee. I had that problem.

  • 

    NamandSpam on 30/11/2017 - 22:58

    Im a chef, and the past week where i have been working 3 consecutive days were really physically and mentally draining. So my occupation is kind of like paused. It's definitely hard to work with this injury.
    Initially injured my knee 7 months ago, it was a minor tear. Definitely healed but wasn't 100%. Then a few weeks ago, I managed to tear it again from doing body weight squats at the gym. Had an MRI and came back more damaged than it previously was.

    My worries are, getting my knee fixed asap so I can quickly start my life again. It's affecting my work and it gets me no where, I mean after every shift i start limping and can barley put any weight on it. Its fu''ked up.

    • 

      carlJack on 01/12/2017 - 02:07

      My initial injury was in July and there was no MRI and I just rested my knee for 2 months and slowly started running again. In Sep, the cricket season started and I thought i was ready to start playing again and the very first day of the training within 5 min my knee got twisted and got injured again. Only after the 2nd time I realized something was seriously wrong and consulted an Orthopedic surgeon. Dont leave it till it gets worse. See if you can get it done in Vietnam. meniscus tear is a pretty simple surgery.

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  carlJack on 30/11/2017 - 19:02

  I got my surgery done 2 years ago. MY ACL was torn along with meniscus and Partial PCL. I had PHI and I did consult an Orthopaedic surgeon. My surgery was scheduled in a private hospital. A week before the surgery, i called my health insurance provider and I was told that knee surgery is not covered under the policy. I immediately called my doctor and asked him to cancel the surgery. My doctor instead suggested me to get it done in a pubic hospital and he told me that it could take 6 months to 1 year.I agreed and my name went into the waiting list.I couldnt wait that long and got my surgery done in India. Total cost was only 2000 AUD. I got a call 4 months later form public hospital that there is a spot open. I told them i already had my surgery.

  Since you dont have PHI and its only a meniscul tear better get your surgery done in a public hospital. It could take sometime so just done aggravate your injury. If you are not careful it could lead to ACL tear.

  • 

    airal3rt on 30/11/2017 - 22:26

    If you are not careful it could lead to ACL tear.

    I don't believe a torn meniscus puts you at risk of further knee damage, some NBA players have played out a season knowing they have a meniscus tear to delay the surgery to the offseason. If someone with as much explosive power going through the knee as an NBA athlete can do so safely, there's no reason average Joe should fear further knee damage from an untreated meniscus tear.

    • 

      Protato on 01/12/2017 - 01:07

      It's not safe to play on a torn meniscus. NBA players do it because if they get surgery their season is finished and there's millions of $$$ on the line. Also, they get strong pain killers before and after every game. Andrew Bynum had to retire at the age of 27 because he played the playoffs on a torn meniscus. Torn meniscus does lead to damage to other structures in the knee due the inherent knee instability cause by the physical obstruction within the knee.

    • 

      carlJack on 01/12/2017 - 02:00

      Professional athletes have access to the best of healthcare and rehab. Zlatan Ibrahimovic tore his ACL in April, had a surgery in may and back to training in August. For me it took 6 months to start running without a limp. For that 6 months i have worked hard doing my exercises for 2 hours everyday.

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  Findo on 30/11/2017 - 19:50

  +1

  What about doing it overseas?

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    NamandSpam on 30/11/2017 - 22:47

    Dont think Vietnam is a recommended option unless someone can enlighten me. Do you have any suggestions on where surgery could take place overseas? I've had this tear for 7 months so far, and just so happened to do more damage from the gym and that was a couple weeks ago. Its swelling up everyday.

    • 

      Findo on 01/12/2017 - 01:29

      Neither I nor my family members have had any surgical procedures done overseas. A few mates got their braces done in Thailand while this girl I know had cosmetic operations done in South Korea. I’d imagine there are good, cheap and viable options for surgical operations in Vietnam and neighbouring countries.

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  mgh4me on 30/11/2017 - 19:51

  Tore my meniscus a few years ago, no private cover. Fronted up to Casualty three weeks after the injury not knowing what damage I had done. Doc did a visual examination and tried to palm me back to my local GP. Insisted that I was in pain and could barely walk on it (this was not an exaggeration) and I had come to the hospital to be treated. They ordered an X-ray, which was followed by an MRI. Operated on within a few weeks, keywhole surgery where the meniscus was trimmed. If it is a major tear they stitch it. Within two weeks of procedure it was almost as good as new and able to ride a push bike. Whole procedure including all pre and post treatments did not cost a cent. Thank you my fellow tax payers for your contribution. When you go to casualty be persistent and don’t tell them you have a meniscus injury. Once they start treatment your in the hands of the public health system as far as I know.

  • 

    Protato on 01/12/2017 - 01:11

    Public orthos in most cases only perform acute knee surgery for a torn meniscus if it's causing physical locking of the knee. If OP presented to ED, most likely they would send him home.

    This of course depends on the state/hospital/doctor you see.

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  gornfishin on 01/12/2017 - 00:27

  Hi,
  Your story sounds very similar to mine. I too am a chef, and both my knees are stuffed, early years playing netball and I think constantly twisting around in the kitchen for years with heavy steel caps has not helped my knees at all. My left knee finally packed it in 4 years ago this month when I turned around and it completely locked up and I was unable to straighten it or weight bear. Struggled through the shift barking orders like Gordon Ramsay from an office chair on wheels. Nightmare.
  Anyway, after a second orthopaedic surgeon's opinion ( the first one told me it was just what happens when you "hit 40", wtf), I booked in for an arthroscopy without private health..I was very desperate and could not wait 12 months through the public system….couldn't even drive. The surgeon was aware I was paying from my own pocket and my dilemma that I was seriously incapacited and he gave me options of the cheaper hospital that he operated at, also the aneathatist did a deal if I paid within 30 days I got a reduction off the bill. The whole affair cost me just shy of $5k. It was day surgery and the main cost was the bed and the sandwiches…$2.5k…bloody rogues. Anyway, I can't complain, the surgeon said I had a complete tear from front to back which had folded over within the joint, hence the inability to straighten my knee and the locking. My other knee has no ACL due to a netball injury, but I manage it by keeping fit and quad and hamstring exercises. Never followed up on surgery as I was over 35 when I tore it, and the surgeon told me a replacement might not be successful anyway at my age, So there you have it. The money I have saved over the years in insurance premiums still outweighs the cost of my knee surgery I'm sure. Here's sending you positivity to get through this ok too!

  • 

    NamandSpam on 01/12/2017 - 01:01

    Holy crap that sounds so heavy, hope youre doing well. Yes, according to my MRI, I have a torn piece flipped over :O:O:O and can barely straighten my leg. Dont know what to do in terms of work.. should i just quit my work place? I mean I thought i found my place to work at after just recently finishing my apprenticeship. Legs give in after a few hours of standing and it hurts like a bitch… was hoping taking a break over here in VN would be better, but i can barely walk to the markets in VN at the moment. Currently thinking about my employment. f'''ck.

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  spacemansam on 01/12/2017 - 08:17

  +1

  Sorry to hear about your situation

  I'm a physio, and have worked predominately in orthopaedics, including at a specialist orthopaedic hospital in London. In recent years there has been a lot of research that has come out to show that surgery for meniscal tears has no better outcome than placebo (sham surgery where they just create an incision into your skin) or exercise. However, if you do have an issue of locking where the knee frequently gets stuck, then surgery may be indicated.

  My advice for the time being, if your issue is pain and not locking, is to trial conservative management first (i.e. physio) and if you don't find any significant improvement in 3 months+ then consider more invasive measures. In my nearly 8 years experience, a large majority of people do not require surgery for this condition, so fingers crossed for you this may be the case.

  Happy for you to PM if you want to discuss further

  Good luck with it all!