A biographical insight about nineteenth century Scottish surgeon Thomas Annandale (1838-1907), describing his life and his milestone contribution to the orthopaedics field, particularly analysing the first meniscus repair in history, that Annandale performed in 1883 and documented in his original paper titled "An Operation for Displaced Semilunar Cartilage" (1885). The experience of Annandale marks a shift in the treatment of meniscal injuries, by introducing the practice of restoring and repairing the original status of the tissue.