Torn cartilage in knee

You need to tell me what type of tear(s). I wil guess it is a Meniscus tear.

Your recovery time will depend on the type of repair you have, Medial, Lateral, or Arthroscopic, and if you have an actual repair, or the removal of the meniscus ( meniscectomy) which is most common and heals faster. Arthroscopic surgery will yield a much faster recovery as your knee will not be opened up, except for a few small (1/4-1/2 inch) wounds, usally two at max.

Arthroscopic meniscus repair is an outpatient surgical procedure to repair torn knee cartilage. The torn meniscus is repaired by a variety of minimally invasive techniques and requires postoperative protection to allow healing. Physical therapy is useful to regain full function of the knee, which occurs on average 4-5 months after surgery.

A torn meniscus generally produces pain in the region of the tear and swelling in the knee joint. These symptoms are made worse with pivoting motions, squatting, and vigorous activities. Torn meniscus fragments can get caught in the knee joint and cause catching sensations. If a large enough fragment becomes lodged between the bearing surfaces, the knee may ‘lock’ and become unable to be fully bent or extended.

Injuries to the articular (gliding surface) cartilage can also cause pain, swelling and catching symptoms in the knee. An experienced surgeon can often distinguish between the two conditions with a thorough history and physical exam, but MRI can be useful as well. These two conditions can occur together and are most accurately diagnosed by arthroscopy. Please see articular cartilage injuries for more information.

Meniscus tears are common in active participants of sports, which require cutting and pivoting. In the United States, there are an estimated 850,000 meniscus surgeries performed each year. The meniscus on the side closest to the other knee (medial) is torn more frequently, and men injure their meniscus more often than women.

Anti-inflammatory medications, taken by mouth or injected directly into the knee, can be useful to reduce the pain and swelling symptoms associated with meniscus tears, but do not improve healing. No medications or nutritional supplements have been scientifically documented as beneficial for meniscus healing.

Arthroscopic surgery is recommended for meniscus tears. The basic principle of meniscus surgery is preservation of healthy meniscus. Since meniscus repair is only feasible in the peripheral area of meniscus that has adequate blood supply, most meniscus tears are treated with arthroscopic meniscectomy.

Even though the recovery is longer for a meniscus repair than for a meniscectomy, any repairable meniscus should generally be repaired. Meniscus repair is considered when:

the patient is healthy and wishes to remain active,
the patient understands the rehabilitation, and accepts the risks of surgery,
the meniscus tear is located in the periphery of the meniscus,
the meniscus tissue is of good quality, and
the surgeon is experienced in meniscus repair

Meniscus tears can be treated by meniscus removal (meniscectomy), meniscus repair, or in unusual circumstances, meniscus replacement. Since the goal of surgery is to preserve healthy meniscus, meniscus repair is attempted when the tear is repairable.
The simplest operation is meniscectomy, removing the damaged meniscus tissue. This has good short term results but leads to the development of arthritis ten to twenty years later. Meniscus repair also has good results, but has a longer recovery time than meniscectomy and is limited to tears, which are amenable to repair. Meniscus replacement is considered for young, active patients who have previously had most of their meniscus removed, and develop pain in the area without having advanced degenerative changes to the articular (gliding surface) cartilage.