Meniscus Transplant

For 15-year-old Mentor High School sophomore Isaiah Gullick, football is a way of life; he dreams of playing in the NFL. At the beginning of his eighth-grade year, the running back was forced to the sidelines after being hit in the knee while returning a punt. An MRI indicated that Isaiah had a severely torn lateral meniscus.
Luckily, he was an excellent candidate for a meniscus transplant - a procedure that had been successfully performed numerous times by Michael Salata, MD in the UH Department of Orthopedics. Dr. Salata is an associate orthopedic surgeon for the Cleveland Browns and he, along with his partners James Voos, MD and Sean Cupp, MD, treat Browns players if injuries occur.
“Knowing that I was operated on by the same doctor who helps to care for the Cleveland Browns players makes me feel special - almost like I was an NFL player,” said Isaiah.
Isaiah’s lateral meniscus transplant took place at UH Case Medical Center and was a complete success. With the help of UH physical therapist Matt Short, Isaiah recovered in time to join his teammates for his sophomore season. He was a starter on the junior varsity team, but often had the opportunity to play at the varsity level and even scored a touchdown.
Isaiah’s mother, Teala Mitchell, is very grateful for the care provided to her son, saying “I can’t thank Dr. Salata and UH enough for enabling Isaiah to continue with his dream.”

[@khalidsaifullahbanday2841]

I had a partial menisectomy surgery of my medial meniscus in 2015 and i am currently 25 years old. Am i a suitable candidate for meniscus transplant?

[@UniversityHospitals]

Please find a location near you and consult with one of our clinicians: www.uhhospitals.org/services/orthopedic-services/conditions-and-treatments/sports-medicine-services

[@madness4236]

Hello, I'm a 23 M. I have had two meniscus surgeries arthriscopes. One lateral meniscus complete tear, the other is a buckle tear (horizontal) both cases led to complete lockage of the knee. Third time now I've been told I have a degenerative meniscus with "holes" in my meniscus due to constantly running. Am I eligible for this type of surgery?

[@UniversityHospitals]

Please find a location near you and consult with one of our clinicians: www.uhhospitals.org/services/orthopedic-services/conditions-and-treatments/sports-medicine-services

[@eisgeist300]

I'm one of Mike's success stories too. I was in an avalanche in Snow Basin UT. My best friend and I were traversing a cat track that cut between two double black diamonds that were known avy zones. We did EVERYTHING we could in our NSP/Avalanche rescue training to stay out of harms way. We got half way through the cat track and we had a sudden storm roll up on us and we got off our path and started traversing down waist deep powder and we heard the tell tale cracking. We bolted out as fast as we could I got thrown up against a tree and my friend was able to ride it out on her board. At first I thought I just had a hip strain and just wanted it looked at real quick. 5 weeks after I came home I was having surgery on my FAI. My hip was trashed, When Mike went in, it cleaned everything up, welded a new labrum onto my hip joint and I was walking three days after, back to work on light duty a week after. Full duty two weeks after. I just started getting the confidence to start running. In two weeks I'm going for my next op meeting with Mike. Now its shoulder time, if he does shoulders like hips. I'm gonna be stoked. I want UH to do my story SOOOO BAD!

[@ajiisss]

how long the new meniscus lasts? Also the transplanted meniscus is dead tissue how does it grow ?

[@liltoxicmexican79]

Depends on the person. If you return to sports expect 15-20 years if you don’t do anything active anymore then 20-30 best

[@kimkang3637]

hi. i m from thailand . we did not has transplant here. i did 4 time surgury on my lateral menisucs. im 42 years old. can i do this surgury. ? can i back to play soccer or running?

[@UniversityHospitals]

Not all conditions are the same. Please consult with one of our clinicians: www.uhhospitals.org/services/orthopedic-services/conditions-and-treatments/sports-medicine-services

[@MultiDgenerationX]

Hey y’all this way me

[@lukumoni2167]

Sir is transplant meniscus last for life time?

[@liltoxicmexican79]

No, ranges from 15-25 years since it’s not yours