Should my child have a diagnostic arthroscopy for meniscus tear?

Carol, this is my response. She is a child of 13. When you do any surgery there is a chance that something will go wrong. On top of that the latest studies show that you do not want to do any surgery to the knee that will remove meniscus tissue. The reason for this is that the meniscus is a very thin layer of extremely slippery material. This material sits on top of cartilage. Unless the knee is locking caused by a flap of the meniscus it should not be removed. The reason is that once removed it allows the underlying cartilage to be exposed to wear and tear that it should not have. The cartilage will undergo deterioration. This deterioration will over time completely erode away the cartilage leaving the bone exposed causing arthritis. This will cause bony changes and extreme pain which will lead to a more sedentary life style. Eventually a total knee replacement will be necessary at a very early age. Now I am not saying that all of this will happen to your daughter but unless she is capable of winning a college scholarship or going to the Olympics then one really has to wonder if it is worth all of the potential damage to the knee. Remember that if nothing else you are messing with the internal dynamics of the knee joint. This will throw out the alignment of the knee causing problems. I know having treated enough of them. Since your daughter was treated for Lyme's disease it should also be remembered that this doesn't go away immediately. The aftermath of that is joint damage. So at this point my recommendation would be to continue to strengthen both legs especially the uninjured leg. The reason for this is that the body has a reflex in it that when you strengthen the stronger muscle group there is an overflow to the weaker. So in this case it would help to advance the strength of the injured knee more than just doing work on that leg. To me the Lyme's disease is something that should be examined fully for if it is the cause of the problem then the surgery is not going to help it but could make it worse.