It is the surgery that is done by making small cuts in the knee and looking at your interior with the use of a tiny camera. You can also enter other medical instruments to repair the knee.
Procedure
The surgeon will make two or three small incisions around the knee and pumped salt water (saline) inside to stretch it.
The surgeon will see the knee to see if there are problems and you can put inside other medical instruments through other small incisions. Then, repair or remove the problem in the knee.
At the end of the surgery, will drain the saline of the knee. The surgeon will close the incisions with sutures (stitches) and cover them with a dressing. Many surgeons take pictures of the procedure from the video monitor so that then you can see what was found and what was done.
Arthroscopy may be recommended for these knee problems:
- A broken meniscus. The meniscus is the cartilage that protects the space between the bones in the knee. Surgery is done to repair it or remove it.
- An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) damaged or broken.
- Swelling or damage to the lining of the joint, which is called the synovium.
- A ball that is out of position (misalignment).
- Small pieces of cartilage torn in the knee joint.
- Removal of Baker's cyst, a swelling behind the knee that is filled with fluid. Sometimes, this happens when there is swelling and pain (inflammation) due to other causes such as arthritis.
- Some fractures of the bones of the knee.
