Arthroscopy is a surgical technique that can diagnose and treat the problems of the joints, commonly the knee and shoulder. A small scope (camera) of the size of a pencil will be introduced into the joint to visualize the anatomy (normal) as well as the pathology (problems) of the joints such as ligament injury, meniscal tear, cartilage erosions, maltracking of the patella, cysts.
A doctor may recommend a knee/shoulder arthroscopy if one is experiencing pain/instability either. It is therefore important to diagnose or confirm the source of pathology and treat the problem. Arthroscopy can diagnose and treat knee or shoulder injuries. Knee injuries include torn/ruptured anterior and post-cruciate ligament, torn meniscus, loose bodies, cartilage lesions, bony avulsion/erosions, swollen synovium. Shoulder injuries include Peri arthritic shoulder, rotator cuff tear, labral / bankart’s/hill sach's lesions, subacromial arthritis.
Expect the cruciate ligament rest of the injuries can be treated by special sutures, anchors, PRP/BMAC for the articular lesions.
Injured ligaments can be repaired by the autogenous hamstring graft and various techniques such as Graft Link using tightropes being the latest one which can be done in a single Hamstring graft with 2 tightropes and partial drilling of the bone in an anatomical way. With this technique, there is minimal pain and faster recovery. This helps in early discharge of the patient from the hospital and quick rehabilitation.
The rehabilitation depends on the complexity of injury and it includes stability, good range of movement, pain-free joint and co-ordinated muscular-ligamentous activity. With the strengthening of the joint one can get back to their daily routine, including driving within 3-4 weeks.
Many of us neglect such ligament injury and ignore knee pain, by failing to differentiate it from normal anatomy, leading to faster wear and tear as well as irreversible changes. This results in replacement stage treatment which could otherwise have been reconstructed and retained back to the natural anatomy of the joint if diagnosed earlier.