In the early 1980s, Watanabe was the first to suggest the possibility of performing surgery arthroscopically. It has come a long way since this surgery is one of the most performed procedures in orthopedics today, reaching 45,000 arthroscopies per day in the USA alone.

What is arthroscopic surgery?

Called by some laser surgeries, it is nothing more than the introduction of a 4mm diameter lens into a joint, either for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.

The most frequently performed are knee arthroscopies, followed by shoulder arthroscopies.

• 
  Indications:
  It is indicated in any intrarticular injury, which does not involve a total change of the same only the repair of structures of this, which by open route would be more damage at the level of soft parts.

• Diagnostic Methods:The ideal diagnostic method is magnetic resonance imaging, since by means of it we can differentiate the injured anatomical sector, in a more specific way.From the diagnostic point of view, conventional X-rays only help us to observe if there is affectation at bone level.

Major or minor surgery?

In terms of surgical requirements, arthroscopy is a mixed surgery because it requires a lot of training although the procedure itself is minimally invasive, it is a procedure that is done with physiological solution, which goes in and out of the joint continuously.

As a surgery, the mobilization of equipment is an arduous task, since it requires a camera, a water pump, a light source, all this with individual consoles and a monitor that projects the image.

Stay or Internment

One of the great advantages of this procedure is that it normally requires a one-day hospital stay; in advanced locations, most arthroscopies are performed on an outpatient basis.

Surgical wound

Normally we use abscesses to the joint called portals, which must be previously diagrammed by means of a previously sterilized marker.

These markings are different in each case, as are the positions used in each surgery.

Start of Movements

Usually if we have not done a complete reconstruction of a ligament, isometric exercises are started which are done from the first day post-surgery.

Recovery Time

Usually the patient can perform daily activities depending on the type of injury in an average of 6 to 8 weeks.

The arthroscopic procedure is an advance in orthopedic procedures and minimally invasive management of joint injuries.

Pavel Espinal
Orthopedics