Arthroscopy
Technology has advanced medicine to an incredible extent. Treatments available today were unheard of 20 years ago. Many of these advancements have gone toward developing minimally invasive procedures that require little to no healing time. One of these minimally invasive, highly effective treatments that is offered by any quality orthopedic surgeon in New Jersey is arthroscopy or arthroscopic surgery. This procedure has reduced the recovery time for patients requiring surgery on their joints drastically, as well as improved the quality of treatment that they are receiving. Arthroscopy has improved diagnosis by giving doctors and surgeons a better look at potential injuries than was available with other methods such as MRI.
How does the Procedure Work?
Arthroscopic surgery makes use of a tiny camera called an arthroscope that is inserted into the area to be examined through a small incision in the skin. The procedure is used to both examine and repair joints. The surgeon will apply a local anesthetic and insert the camera. For a knee arthroscopy, only two small incisions need to be made. If the procedure is going to be reparative the surgeon will also insert the device that will be doing the work. The surgeon will then view the inside of the knee in real time on a monitor in the operating room. If he or she is doing a treatment at the same time it will also be done through the monitor screen. After the procedure has been finished, the surgeon will remove the camera and any other tools that might have been inserted and will close the small incisions.
What Advantages Does Arthroscopy Offer?
The main advantage that arthroscopic surgery offers over traditional surgery methods is that it is less invasive. The procedure involves inserting a tiny camera through a small incision to see the issues instead of cutting the joint wide open. This means that the recovery time is smaller and requires fewer stitches. This is especially important for athletes who might be trying to recover from an injury on a tight schedule. This also means shorter hospital stays and lower costs. Any time a procedure can be done in a less invasive way it means that there will be reduced risk of complications and side effects.
Another advantage that arthroscopic surgery offers is that it generally produces much less scarring than traditional surgery. The reason for this is very simple; the small incisions required for the procedure are nowhere near as large as the ones that would be made during a traditional surgery.
When performing an arthroscopy, and orthopedic surgeon can usually use a local anesthetic, meaning that the patient does not have to be unconscious during the procedure. This makes recovery time faster as well as greatly reduces the risks of anesthesia. Since patients don’t have to go under general anesthesia, the preparations for surgery are less extreme regarding fasting and other procedures.
How long has Arthroscopy Been Around?
Arthroscopic surgery has been around in its primitive form since the early part of the 20th century though it has taken much refinement to get to its place today as the gold standard for minimally invasive surgery. As technology has increased through the years, arthroscopy has improved as well. Cameras have gotten smaller and more high resolution is now available than every before. The invention of fiber optic cables was a major leap forward for the procedure since the cables are extremely thin and highly flexible.
What Applications can Arthroscopy be Used For?
Arthroscopy can be used for nearly any joint condition. The procedure is often used to examine a joint problem without cutting it open. Even when an arthroscopic procedure is not an option to fix the problem, the preliminary examinations may be done with an arthroscope to reduce the invasiveness of the procedure.
Arthroscopy in the knee is one of the most common types of arthroscopic procedures. This is especially popular with athletes who have frequent knee injuries and need to heal quickly to return to competition. In knee injuries, arthroscopic surgery is generally used to treat meniscus injuries or repair ACLs.
Arthroscopy has also become a popular choice amongst doctors and patients for examining shoulders, hips, wrists, and even the temporomandibular joint. There are a variety of conditions in these joints that can be treated effectively with this minimally invasive procedure.
How does the Procedure Work?
Arthroscopic surgery makes use of a tiny camera called an arthroscope that is inserted into the area to be examined through a small incision in the skin. The procedure is used to both examine and repair joints. The surgeon will apply a local anesthetic and insert the camera. For a knee arthroscopy, only two small incisions need to be made. If the procedure is going to be reparative the surgeon will also insert the device that will be doing the work. The surgeon will then view the inside of the knee in real time on a monitor in the operating room. If he or she is doing a treatment at the same time it will also be done through the monitor screen. After the procedure has been finished, the surgeon will remove the camera and any other tools that might have been inserted and will close the small incisions.
What Advantages Does Arthroscopy Offer?
The main advantage that arthroscopic surgery offers over traditional surgery methods is that it is less invasive. The procedure involves inserting a tiny camera through a small incision to see the issues instead of cutting the joint wide open. This means that the recovery time is smaller and requires fewer stitches. This is especially important for athletes who might be trying to recover from an injury on a tight schedule. This also means shorter hospital stays and lower costs. Any time a procedure can be done in a less invasive way it means that there will be reduced risk of complications and side effects.
Another advantage that arthroscopic surgery offers is that it generally produces much less scarring than traditional surgery. The reason for this is very simple; the small incisions required for the procedure are nowhere near as large as the ones that would be made during a traditional surgery.
When performing an arthroscopy, and orthopedic surgeon can usually use a local anesthetic, meaning that the patient does not have to be unconscious during the procedure. This makes recovery time faster as well as greatly reduces the risks of anesthesia. Since patients don’t have to go under general anesthesia, the preparations for surgery are less extreme regarding fasting and other procedures.
How long has Arthroscopy Been Around?
Arthroscopic surgery has been around in its primitive form since the early part of the 20th century though it has taken much refinement to get to its place today as the gold standard for minimally invasive surgery. As technology has increased through the years, arthroscopy has improved as well. Cameras have gotten smaller and more high resolution is now available than every before. The invention of fiber optic cables was a major leap forward for the procedure since the cables are extremely thin and highly flexible.
What Applications can Arthroscopy be Used For?
Arthroscopy can be used for nearly any joint condition. The procedure is often used to examine a joint problem without cutting it open. Even when an arthroscopic procedure is not an option to fix the problem, the preliminary examinations may be done with an arthroscope to reduce the invasiveness of the procedure.
Arthroscopy in the knee is one of the most common types of arthroscopic procedures. This is especially popular with athletes who have frequent knee injuries and need to heal quickly to return to competition. In knee injuries, arthroscopic surgery is generally used to treat meniscus injuries or repair ACLs.
Arthroscopy has also become a popular choice amongst doctors and patients for examining shoulders, hips, wrists, and even the temporomandibular joint. There are a variety of conditions in these joints that can be treated effectively with this minimally invasive procedure.