The traditional surgical techniques of meniscectomy have come under a lot of scrutiny in the past couple of decades. A considerable number of studies show that although there is some short-term improvement in aspects such as pain control, the long term effects of meniscectomy, meniscal repair, and meniscal allograft transplantation reveal that symptoms, such as pain and instability, will persist for years afterward. The main reason that these and other treatments are ineffective in healing the meniscus can simply be attributed to the fact that, regardless of what is done to structurally repair the meniscus, it is still primarily an avascular cartilaginous structure which cannot heal without a sufficient supply of nutrition.
The takeaway is that surgery does not initiate the regenerative process and sometimes procedures such as meniscectomy can even trigger the degenerative cascade of arthritis. Hence it is our firm belief that regenerative treatment should be considered for most patients with meniscal pathology.