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Arthroscopy is a surgical procedure for effectively viewing, diagnosing and treating joint problems. The words “arthro” means joint, while “skopia” means to look. Thus, the term literally means ‘to look within the joint’.
Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgery that allows a doctor to heal your condition without open surgery. Typically, an Orthopaedic Surgeon or Sports Medicine Specialist performs such a procedure.
Arthroscopic surgery can prove to be extremely helpful in cases of chronic joint stiffness or pain. Want to know more? Keep reading to learn about arthroscopy, its purpose, procedure and recovery.
Arthroscopy is a procedure that involves inserting a small camera into the joint to examine it. An arthroscope is a small, thin tube with a light and a camera on the end of it. The doctor inserts it into the joint through a small incision, which allows him/her to see the interior of your joint on a monitor.
Since there are no large incisions, there is less pain and scarring along with a faster recovery time. Arthroscopy can help diagnose or treat problems in any joint, but it is most commonly performed on the knee (arthroscopic knee surgery), shoulder, wrist and ankle. Hip arthroscopy is also pretty common among patients.
An arthroscope may also help remove loose fragments of bone or cartilage that have broken off within a joint or remove inflamed synovial tissue (synovectomy).
Your doctor may recommend an arthroscopic procedure to:
Arthroscopic procedures can allow surgeons to treat a wide range of acute or chronic injuries. Some of these surgeries are:
Before scheduling your procedure, your doctor will need information about any medications you are currently taking — both prescription and over-the-counter — as well as any herbal supplements or vitamins. For example, your doctor might ask you to stop taking anti-inflammatory medication before the procedure for a week or two.
You can take over-the-counter painkillers, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) if needed. However, certain medications may increase bleeding risks during surgery, so your doctor must know all the medicines you take.
Your doctor will also instruct you not to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before your surgery. Your surgeon might tell you whether to take your usual medications on the morning of the procedure. You might need to avoid lotions, creams and makeup around the incision site.
In some cases, arthroscopy is considered day surgery. This means that you go home the same day as your procedure after a period of monitoring in a recovery area at your doctor’s office or the hospital. Your doctor will tell you if your arthroscopy is scheduled as day surgery or inpatient surgery and how long you can expect to be at the facility.
You will arrive two to three hours before your procedure so that important tests can be run. In addition, you can meet with the staff who would assist during and after surgery (anesthesiologist, nurses, surgical assistant) to make sure everything runs smoothly on procedure day.
Arthroscopic or keyhole surgery usually takes place in an operating room. Before the surgery begins, a nurse or technician will insert an intravenous line, or IV, into your arm so that they can give you fluid and medicine through it during surgery. The type of anaesthesia you will receive depends on your joint and the exact condition.
So, you may receive local anaesthesia (numbing just the area where the doctor operates) or general anaesthesia. General anaesthesia relaxes your muscles and makes you unconscious during the procedure so that you won’t feel pain.
The surgeon will make several small incisions (around 2-3 millimetres) around the affected joint. First, a sterile saline solution helps expand the joint, making it easier for the surgeon to see inside. This also washes away tissue debris within the joint, allowing a clear view of the area under treatment. Then, your doctor will insert a thin tube connected to an arthroscopic camera. The images from this camera are projected onto a television screen so that your doctor can see exactly what is going on inside your knee or another joint.
Using this image as their guide, your doctor will then insert special surgical instruments through other small incisions to repair the damage to your joint. Once the surgeon has diagnosed your problem, he or she may use one of the following tools to treat it:
After completing this part of the procedure, your doctor will remove the instruments and close up the incisions with stitches or skin glue.
An arthroscopic procedure leaves minimal scarring because there are no large incisions compared to open surgery. Occasionally, you may have some swelling around the surgical site after surgery, but it should go away on its own quickly.
The procedure typically takes 1-2 hours. Once completed, most patients will spend another 1-2 hours in recovery monitored by staff before being discharged. They will spend their recovery time until following up visits with their physician allowing for rest and time for healing.
An arthroscopy is usually an outpatient procedure. That means you can leave within a few hours of the surgery. Some surgeries, however, are inpatient, which means you will stay overnight at the hospital.
Recovery from an arthroscopy depends on the type of surgery and your injury. The recovery time is variable and based on your age, overall health, willingness to comply with physical therapy, and ability to stay off of the injured joint. Many patients go home the same day or a day after surgery. However, most patients require at least a few weeks before they return to full activity.
If the doctor took only a biopsy without any additional treatment, you would most likely be able to resume normal activities quickly. However, if he/she did cartilage repair or ligament reconstruction, you might not be able to perform any strenuous activities for several months after surgery. Your doctor will give you specific instructions on how long to wait before returning to your usual activities.
Still, the recovery time from arthroscopic knee surgery is usually much faster than from traditional knee surgery. Typically, stitches (sutures) can be removed ten days (or so) after surgery.
After undergoing arthroscopic surgery, you can resume normal activities from a few weeks to several months. But, again, recovery times will vary depending on the complexity of the procedure, your unique situation and how well you follow post-op instructions.
If you have any concerns about your post-arthroscopic surgery recovery, talk with your orthopaedic surgeon so that he or she can help put your mind at ease.
Arthroscopy is a highly common surgical procedure with a high percentage of positive results and a low complication rate. With over 90% of patients reporting improvement in knee pain and function, arthroscopy has a high rate of positive results. Moreover, complications are rare, occurring in less than 1% of cases.
As you can observe, arthroscopy surgery is safe, efficient and economical. In case you or your loved ones are struggling with joint-related problems, it’s time to seek medical attention. At Amandeep Hospitals, we provide state-of-the-art arthroscopy facilities to our patients. Our team of highly experienced doctors and nurses work round the clock to deliver the best medical services in the region.
Choose health over ailments! Get in touch with us by visiting our hospital or booking an appointment today.
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