A 'harpoon' in knee surgery is the term sometimes given to small bio-degradeable barbed devices which are shot through the two parts of a torn meniscus to hold the fragments together.

 

Seldom used now

A suture may have been attached to the harpoon - but the procedure has largely been superceded by newer techniques because the devices may sometimes cause problems within the joint.

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Dr Sheila Strover (Editor)
BSc (Hons), MB BCh, MBA

See biography...