I had major reconstructive knee surgery about 20 years ago. A new ACL and two meniscus tears were repaired. Eventually the meniscus healed, but developed minor tears on a consistent basis. Four years ago I had a major tear of a flap of the meniscus. Flaps are not repairable. The doctor said surgery is possible if I can't handle the pain of the floating piece in my knee.

I understood that I needed the decomposing meniscus to stay in my knee to take up space, otherwise more tears are likely. Free space inside ones body is not good! Recently the flap has broken down into a small piece. I feel it floating around, but the size is dramatically smaller. I expect it should continue to diminish at a faster rate. Once it's gone I should minimize my risk of injury, but additional tears are possible with a piece still floating around. Thankfully I have been working out really hard. The muscle tone restricts motion of the loose body, minimizing reinjury risk.