Knee arthroscopy is a surgery in which a camera, or arthroscope, is inserted into the knee joint through small incisions around the knee. Sterile fluid is then inserted into the knee joint, which expands the joint and makes it easier to see and work in your knee. Knee arthroscopy allows Dr. Burns to look directly into your knee joint and treat damage in the knee.
Knee arthroscopy can be done with you reclining on your back and your surgical leg supported in a brace or holder. Special instruments have been designed to help your surgeon accomplish knee surgery through small incisions. Most of these instruments are long and thin, like a pencil, to fit through the portals. Special arthroscopic devices can be used to perform the same procedures that previously required incisions, including meniscal repair and ligament repair or reconstruction.
The advantage of having knee operations done through the scope is more than cosmetic. Depending on the type of procedure, post-operative pain and recovery time can be faster. This type of surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis, so that you can go home the same day. However, in knee surgery sometimes it can be necessary to make a small additional incision to get the work done properly, such as to harvest tendons for ACL or other ligament reconstruction, or to secure devices outside of the knee joint, as for meniscal root repair.