Arthroscopy
Arthroscopic Surgery is the method of diagnosing and treating an abnormality in any joint of the human body, through a tube like instrument called Arthroscope.
It is most commonly used for treatment of conditions associated with knee, shoulder, elbow, wrist and ankle. The procedure can be performed on outpatients and does not require any hospitalization.
Arthroscopic procedures cause less trauma to the tissue, lesser pain and facilitates a quick recovery.
When is an Arthroscopic surgery necessary?
Diagnosing injuries in the body parts especially in the joints require thorough testing usually through X-ray, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or Computed Tomography (CT Scans) to be able to identify the disorder precisely.
The diagnosis conclusions obtained through Arthroscopy are more reliable than conclusions from other scanning methods.
What are the conditions that can be diagnosed through Arthroscopy?
Some of the joints related conditions diagnosed through arthroscopy are:
Inflammation related conditions: An example is Synovitis, which is an inflammation of the lining in the ankle, wrist, shoulder, elbow and knee.
Serious injuries: Sudden or recurrent dislocations, impingment syndrome, tedon tears at the rotator cuffs.
Knee related conditions: Tears of the cartilage, wearing or injury of the cartilage cushion and anterior cruciate ligament tear.
Wrist related conditions: Carpal tunnel syndrome.
Loose bodies: Bone and cartilage at the joints of knee, elbow, ankle, wrist or shoulder that are floating around.
What are the advantages of Arthroscopic Surgery?
Arthroscopy is popular option for treating athletes. It is increasingly being accepted to treat orthopedic patients because it is painful to patients compared to an open surgery.
A combination or arthroscopy and standard surgery are used to treat several conditions like:
- Removal of inflamed lining (synovium) in the common joints of ankle, wrist, knee, elbow and shoulder
- Repair of torn ligaments
- Repair of torn cartilage from knee or shoulder
- Repair of carpal tunnel
- Rotator cuff surgery
- Removal of loose bone and cartilage in the joints.
- Reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligament in the knee.
