Do you have severe shoulder pain from your last tennis match? You might have hurt your knee or shoulder cuff while playing basketball. You need to get back into the game right away. Arthroscopic knee surgery is an excellent way to treat many knee problems because it is slightly invasive and works very well.
When you have arthroscopic knee surgery, do you not know what to expect? We can give you the answers you need and also list 8 clear benefits of using this minimally invasive surgery method.
What Is Knee Arthroscopy?
Knee arthroscopy is a type of surgery that can find and fix problems in the knee joint. Your doctor will make a very small cut in your knee and put in an arthroscope, which is a very small camera. This lets them see what’s going on inside the joint on a screen. The surgeon can then look into a knee problem and, if needed, fix it with the help of small tools inside the arthroscope.
An arthroscopy can find a number of knee problems, such as a torn meniscus or a patella that isn’t in the right place. It can also fix the joint tissues. The process doesn’t come with many risks, and most people will have a good outcome. How long it takes to heal and how good your outlook is will depend on how bad your knee problem is and how complicated the surgery is.
Why do you need a knee arthroscopy?
If you are having knee pain, your doctor may suggest that you have knee surgery. Your doctor may have already worked out what’s wrong with you, or may have ordered the arthroscopy to help them figure it out. An arthroscopy is a good way for doctors to find out where knee pain arises from and treat it.
What are the benefits of arthroscopy?
There are several main advantages to arthroscopic surgery.
1. Not as much inflammation and swelling
An arthroscopic process requires very small cuts in the skin compared to “open” surgery, which may need bigger cuts. As a result of less damage to soft tissue, there is less pain, swelling, and inflammation than with open surgery.
2. Quicker healing
You’ll have small cuts instead of big ones. If you wait just one or two days after surgery, you might be able to take off the bandages and cover the cuts with small, clean strips that have glue around them. Open surgery, on the other hand, leaves bigger scars that need more care and more trips to the doctor.
3. Less chance of problems
Prior to arthroscopy, surgery on joints left the joint open for a long time, which raised the risk of infection. It also raised the risk of arthrofibrosis, a condition in which scar tissue grows after surgery because of the damage it caused. The scar tissue limits your range of motion, which hurts every time you move the joint or tissue.
4. Return to function better
Before arthroscopic surgery, damage to the joints would often end the career of a trained participant. Patients now usually go back to work after taking some time off.
5. Surgery outside a hospital
An outpatient setting, like a surgical center or the surgeon’s office, is sometimes possible for many arthroscopic treatments. It is much cheaper for the healthcare system and the patient to do these things instead of having surgery in a hospital. Also, you almost always need to be in a hospital for open surgery.
Some arthroscopic treatments use local anesthetics, while others use general anesthesia. Open surgery uses general anesthesia, which can be dangerous for older patients and people who already have health problems. Some patients don’t react well to it.
6. Faster recovery time
When you have arthroscopic surgery, you heal faster than when you have open surgery. Your wounds heal more quickly, your bandages come off more rapidly, and you can start physical treatment sooner if you need to. You’ll be able to do the things you need to do much faster than after open surgery.
Recovery from open surgeries used to take months, but now it only takes weeks for knee surgeries to do the same thing.
This saves time and money for hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, and patients alike. That’s why arthroscopy was one of the most important new treatments for joints in the 20th century.
How to Prepare for Knee Arthroscopy?
You can get ready for your surgery by talking to your doctor or operator. Make sure they know about any vitamins, prescription drugs, or over-the-counter medicines you’re taking.
Before the surgery, you might need to stop taking aspirin or ibuprofen for a few days or weeks.
Also, you can’t eat or drink anything for six to twelve hours before the process. In some situations, your doctor may give you painkillers to help with any soreness you feel after surgery. You should get this medication filled ahead of time so that you can use it right away after the surgery.
What are the possible risks of an arthroscopy on the knee?
Any kind of treatment comes with some risks, but they don’t happen regularly. There are these risks with every surgery:
- Too much blood during the process
- Incision site infection
- An allergic response to the drugs or other medicines given during surgery can make it hard to breathe.
There are also risks that are unique to knee arthroscopy, such as:
- Blood clots
- Infection
- Stiffness and damage to the cartilage.
Wrapping It Up
Knee arthroscopy is a slightly invasive surgery that can help people who have problems with their knees in many ways. It makes it possible to precisely diagnose and treat a range of knee problems with more minor cuts, which means less pain, swelling, and scars than with standard surgery. Also, people who have knee surgery usually heal faster, which means they can get back to their regular routines faster.
Even though the process is generally safe, you should talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits before the operation. Ultimately, knee arthroscopy is a good way to treat knee pain and can help many people improve their quality of life and joint function.
