Meniscus are two small C-shaped wedges of elastic cartilage inside the knee that act as shock absorbers and load sharers in the joint...
A meniscal allograft is a real meniscus that has been obtained from a deceased donor...
Meniscal allograft transplantation involves surgically implanting a new meniscus into the knee to replace a missing meniscus...
If you would like an opinion from Mr McDermott regarding your own personal knee issues then please get in touch...
Meniscal allograft transplantation is the procedure of surgically implanting a new meniscus, which is provided by a donor, into someone's knee. Meniscal transplantation is not new - the first case series was actually reported way back in 1989 by Klaus Milachowski, from Munchen.
However, it has take several years for the procedure to gradually gain popularity and acceptance within the surgical world. Now, however, meniscal transplantation is readily available in specialist centres from a small number of highly specialised knee surgeons specialising in complex knee reconstructive surgery.
I highly recommend Ian if you are considering a meniscal allograft transplantation. He was extremely measured during our discussions about my options before the operation, did a fantastic job during the operation, and has remained available and responsive via email since then.
The operation went well and the procedure and recovery were far better than I had expected. Ian had prepared me for the worst, but the pain levels were manageable throughout. I would highly recommend Ian to anybody contemplating knee surgery. His professionalism, attention to detail and knowledge (and experience) of current medical research gave me the confidence to go ahead.
The operation was more successful than I could have imagined. It turned out Ian didn’t need to cut anything out, and instead he was able to repair the meniscal tear to try and get it to heal back together. My meniscal tear has healed up and my knee recovered so well that I was able to follow out my plan and dream to do a ski season.
I had a semi-successful ACL graft performed when I was 17, following a rugby accident in Abu Dhabi. After several smaller issues and degradation of the ACL and meniscus over 15 years, I was put in touch with Mr Ian McDermott about the possibility of grafting a new ACL and a new meniscus. The operation was performed flawlessly over two sessions, and I went back to a semi-active lifestyle including cycling, yoga and trekking. During the entire period, I was living abroad so the fact that Ian is super-responsive made a big difference to the result. Highly recommended.
The aim of this website is to help inform patients about meniscal transplantation. It will explain fully what is involved and provide guidance for people who are querying whether or not this kind of surgery is suitable for their particular knee complaint.
This website has been created by Mr Ian McDermott, who is one of London’s leading private knee surgeons. Mr McDermott has been involved in meniscal transplantation for the last 15 years, and he has been performing meniscal transplantation for the last 10 years.
He is one of the UK’s leading experts in the field of meniscal repair and meniscal replacement, and he is one of only a very small number of surgeons in the Uk who actually has considerable practical experience with this surgical procedure, having undertake large number of cases.
This website is not, and cannot be, a substitute for a detailed face to face clinical assessment, which is an essential part of the process for anyone seeking advice regarding their own personal case.
Initially after meniscal transplantation surgery it is important to protect the knee and to offload the joint in order to protect the meniscal allograft and to give the graft the best possible chance of healing up successfully.
With time, the patient’s blood vessels grow into the meniscal allograft and the new meniscus is seeded with new cells, and the graft becomes a living meniscus with the patient’s own living cells. However, this takes time, which is why initially it’s important to protect the joint.
