Knee Arthroscopy (Keyhole Surgery) entails placement of a camera through a keyhole incision and performing one of several procedures through keyhole surgery.
The advantages of arthroscopic surgery are to a large degree due to the fact that it is the most minimally invasive type of knee surgery possible. The camera as well as the various arthroscopic instruments have been designed over many years to be as effective and at the same time as atraumatic as possible. Effectively this allows elegant surgical procedures to be carried out on the various structures inside the knee without any type of open surgery being required. The fact that the scope requires the use of copious amounts of fluid irrigation through the knee joint, limits the chance of postsurgical infection greatly. Another major advantage of minimally invasive surgery is rapid rehabilitation, which is possible because none of the structures required for joint movement contain major wounds, which is the case in open surgery. In the early stage post surgery a painful wound tends to cause reflex inhibition of the muscle groups around the joint, limiting the potential for rapid rehabilitation physiotherapy. Because the joint is not moved early, adhesions may develop, often related to the structures that have been operated on and delayed stiffness of the joint may result. Obviously the risk of injury to adjacent soft tissue structures such as nerves and blood vessels is also markedly decreased with this type of minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery.
The surgery is indicated for specific injuries and conditions of the knee.The pre-operative problem can be assessed by examination, X-rays, and in some instances patients require an MRI scan.
The possible knee conditions that may be treated are the following:
Meniscus injury (torn cartilage)
Ligament dysruption (anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or posterior cruciate ligament (PCL))
Intra-articular fractures
Instability of the Patella.
Articular surface defects or injuries
Loose bodies or locking of the knee.
