Orthopedic Surgery

Arthroscopic Surgery

Many of our surgeries in Sports Medicine are done entirely or partially with an arthroscope, which is a slender, fiber-optic lens that is attached to a small TV camera and placed into a joint through a small (roughly quarter inch) incision. The surgeon watches a video monitor while he or she uses slender instruments that are placed into the joint through similar, small incisions.

The primary advantages offered by the arthroscopic surgery, compared to “open” techniques, which employ larger incisions, are:

1. The use of smaller incisions tends to make the procedure, in many cases, less traumatic (less tissue disruption), hence the level of pain and stiffness tend to be less during the period early after surgery.
2. Smaller and more remote areas of a joint might be more easily accessed with an arthroscope.
3. The smaller incisions leave smaller scars, hence better cosmetic results.

In view of the above potential advantages of arthroscopic over open surgery, there has been much enthusiasm in recent years to maximize the use of the arthroscope, and define the limits of what we can safely and effectively do arthroscopically.

For some procedures, the arthroscope is well accepted and has become the common method; for some procedures, arthroscopic and open techniques have similar outcomes; for some procedures, arthroscopic techniques are in relatively early developmental stages and may or may not prove to be as safe and effective as open procedures.

Surgeons will vary in their opinions on this matter, depending on their training, experiences, and interpretation of available studies.