Meniscus Surgery in Sydney

What is meniscus surgery?

Meniscus surgery is an operation to treat a torn meniscus inside the knee. The meniscus is a crescent-shaped piece of fibrocartilage that sits between the thigh bone and shin bone. Each knee has two menisci: one on the inside of the knee and one on the outside.

The meniscus helps share load, absorb shock, improve joint stability and protect the smooth cartilage on the ends of the bones. When it tears, the knee may become painful, swollen, stiff, click, catch or lock.

Most meniscus surgery is performed using knee arthroscopy, also known as keyhole surgery. Through small incisions, your surgeon can see inside the knee and either repair the meniscus with sutures or trim away only the unstable damaged part while preserving as much healthy meniscus as possible.

Do you need meniscus surgery?

Not every meniscus tear needs surgery. Some tears settle with physiotherapy, strength work, activity modification and time — especially degenerative tears in knees with early arthritis or general wear and tear.

Surgery is more likely to be considered when symptoms persist despite good rehabilitation, or when the knee has mechanical symptoms such as catching, locking, painful clicking, repeated swelling or a tear that is unlikely to settle because the damaged piece is moving inside the joint.

At your consultation, your surgeon will examine your knee and review imaging, commonly including an MRI. The scan is useful, but the decision is not made from the MRI alone. The key question is whether the tear matches your symptoms and whether surgery is likely to improve your knee.

Benefits and risks

What you can expect it to achieve

• Reduce pain caused by an unstable or symptomatic meniscus tear
• Improve catching, locking or painful clicking when caused by the tear
• Preserve meniscal tissue where repair is suitable
• Remove only the unstable damaged part when repair is unlikely to heal
• Support return to work, sport and daily activity with structured rehabilitation
• Treat associated injuries during the same arthroscopy where appropriate

Risks to understand

• Common and temporary: swelling, bruising, stiffness and mild wound discomfort
• Uncommon: infection, blood clots, bleeding into the knee, wound problems and anaesthetic complications
• Repair-specific: the repair may not heal and further surgery may be needed
• Trimming-specific: removing meniscal tissue can increase load on the joint surface over time
• Persistent symptoms: pain may continue if arthritis, cartilage damage or overload is also present

All surgery carries risk and outcomes vary between individuals. Your surgeon will explain how these risks apply to your knee, including whether repair or trimming is the safer and more realistic option.

Meniscus repair	Meniscus trimming
Stitches the tear to help it heal	Removes only the unstable damaged portion
Preserves more meniscal tissue	Useful when the tear is not repairable
Recovery is slower and more protected	Recovery is usually faster
May require crutches and a brace	Often allows weight-bearing straight away
Best for selected tears with healing potential	Best for unstable frayed or degenerative tears that cannot heal

The procedure: what happens

Meniscus surgery is usually performed as a knee arthroscopy. You will arrive at hospital before surgery, meet the anaesthetic team and have your knee prepared with antiseptic. Your surgeon will confirm the correct knee and mark the side before the anaesthetic.

The operation is usually performed under general anaesthetic. Small incisions are made at the front of the knee, and the joint is filled with sterile fluid so the surgeon can see clearly. A small camera is inserted into the knee and connected to a monitor.

Your surgeon inspects the meniscus, joint cartilage, ligaments and the rest of the knee. If the tear is repairable, it may be stitched using arthroscopic meniscal repair devices. If it is not repairable, the unstable torn portion is trimmed and smoothed, leaving as much healthy meniscus as possible.

If there are associated problems, such as loose fragments, cartilage damage or an ACL injury, these may be treated or planned for separately depending on the situation. At the end of the operation, the small wounds are closed and covered with dressings.

After surgery

You will wake in the recovery room and be monitored until comfortable and stable. Most meniscus operations are day procedures, so you can usually go home the same day with a support person.

Your immediate recovery depends on the procedure. After simple trimming, most patients can put weight through the leg as comfort allows. After a repair, your surgeon may restrict bending, weight-bearing or squatting to protect the healing meniscus.

Meniscus surgery recovery and rehabilitation

Recovery after meniscus surgery depends mainly on whether the meniscus was repaired or trimmed. A trim usually recovers faster because the damaged tissue has been removed. A repair takes longer because the repaired meniscus needs time to heal.

Your recovery starts with swelling control, walking safely, restoring knee movement and activating the quadriceps. From there, rehabilitation progresses into strength, balance, control, running and sport-specific work depending on your goals.

Recovery timeline

Phase	After trimming	After repair
Days 0–7	Walking as tolerated, swelling control, early exercises	Protected walking, swelling control, brace or crutches if advised
Weeks 1–2	Return to desk work, normalising walking	Early physiotherapy, protecting the repair, gentle movement
Weeks 2–6	Strength work, cycling or swimming if suitable, return to most activities	Controlled strengthening, brace and bending restrictions if required
Months 3–4	Higher loading and sport progression where appropriate	Running and impact may begin gradually if cleared
Months 4–6+	Usually fully recovered unless other joint problems exist	Sport-specific rehab and staged return to sport

Timeframes are a guide. Your surgeon and rehabilitation team will progress you based on the tear, procedure, swelling, strength and sport or work demands.

Post-operative care

The bulky dressing can usually be removed the morning after surgery. Waterproof dressings underneath should stay in place until your wound check at 10 to 14 days, unless they become loose or soaked.

You can usually shower with waterproof dressings, but avoid soaking the knee in a bath, pool or ocean until the wounds have healed. Swelling may last for several weeks, and incision sites can feel puffy or firm for up to three months.

Rehabilitation at MTP Health

This is where MTP Health is different. Your rehabilitation is delivered by our physiotherapists and exercise physiologists in the same clinic as your surgeon, following a plan based on your exact procedure.

Your physiotherapist will help settle swelling, restore movement and rebuild quadriceps strength. If you are returning to sport, exercise physiology becomes important for running mechanics, jumping, landing, change of direction and workload planning.

We recommend booking your first post-operative physiotherapy appointment as soon as your surgical date is confirmed, ideally two to five days after surgery.

Returning to driving, work and sport

Driving usually depends on which knee was operated on, whether you drive an automatic or manual car, and whether you can safely perform an emergency stop. You must also be off strong pain medication. Please check with your surgeon and your insurer before driving.

After meniscus trimming, office workers may return within a few days and heavy workers may need up to two weeks or longer depending on symptoms and job demands. Full recovery often takes four to six weeks.

After meniscus repair, office workers may return after about one week, while heavy manual workers may need up to three months before full duties. Running, jumping, twisting and impact sport are usually delayed for several months to protect the repair.

Meniscus surgery cost in Sydney

The cost of meniscus surgery depends on your private health cover, hospital insurance, surgeon fees, anaesthetist fees, assistant fees, hospital charges and whether the operation involves trimming, repair or additional procedures.

If you are having surgery using private health cover, the standard fees for the surgeon, anaesthetist and assistant usually lead to a total out-of-pocket gap. This will be confirmed in your written quote before surgery.

The anaesthetist is an independent practitioner and may charge a different gap, which can affect the final figure. We provide their details and recommend checking their quote before committing to surgery.

The surgeons at MTP Health participate in various reduced-gap schemes run by different health insurance providers. Availability can vary, and reduced-gap surgical time slots may involve a longer wait. Your insurance may also have an excess to pay, commonly around $500.

If you are having meniscus surgery through the public system, there is no out-of-pocket surgical cost, but waiting times can be long and depend on your local hospital, urgency category and availability.

Why have your meniscus surgery at MTP Health

MTP Health brings together experienced knee surgeons, physiotherapists and exercise physiologists in one clinic. That matters because meniscus surgery is not just about treating the tear — it is about choosing the right treatment, protecting the meniscus where possible and guiding your recovery properly.

Honest advice comes first. If your tear is best managed without surgery, we will tell you. If repair is possible, we will explain why it may be worth protecting. If trimming is more realistic, we will explain why and aim to preserve as much healthy meniscus as possible.

Your surgeon

Frequently asked questions