Knee Arthroscopy – “Keyhole Surgery”
The knee joint is one of the most commonly injured joints in the body becuase of the forces that go through it. If no fracture is found after injury the first treatment is usually physiotherapy.
If your symptoms haven’t improved with targeted physiotherapy, I may offer knee arthroscopy (Key hole surgery) to treat your mechanical knee symptoms.
It is generally performed as a “day case” procedure which means you will most likely be discharged a few hours after your operation if you have recovered well from the anaesthetic. Arthroscopy is performed through two or three small incisions around your knee cap. Specialised instruments are used to deal with any problems and remove any loose cartilage from your knee. I will also take intra-operative photogrpahs and provide you a copy of them on discharge for you to keep.
Arthroscopy generally takes about 30-45 minutes to complete.
Keyhole surgery of the knee
The cartilage or ‘meniscus’ within the knee can be likened to a ‘shock absorber’ within the joint. Some patients develop a tear of these knee structures leading to pain, restriction of movement, locking of the knee or giving away. Sometimes there can be a floating fragment of cartilage or bone within the joint – so-called ‘loose bodies’ which causes mechanical symptoms such as locking. This can often be treated with an arthroscopy.
A significant portion of patients who have arthritis of the knee also develop these as a gradual worsening of their arthritis. Most research advises against arthroscopy under these circumstances but it needs a skilled assessment by an expert in this field to differentiate mechanical symptoms from wear and tear related pain.
I would be happy to provide further assessment and recommendation for these injuries.
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