Library · Procedure
Arthroscopy
Make it clearer
Arthroscopy is surgery used to look inside a joint, the place where two bones meet and move against each other. It is minimally invasive: instead of opening the joint, the surgeon makes a few very small cuts and passes a thin tube with a tiny camera at the tip, the arthroscope, through one of them.
For there to be anything to see, saline is pumped in, salt water close to the body's own, which distends the joint and pushes its walls apart. The camera sends the picture to a video monitor. The surgeon does not open the joint: they go in through peepholes and work facing a screen.
Thin instruments go in through the other cuts, and the surgeon uses them to repair or remove what is damaged. The best known example is a torn meniscus in the knee, the cartilage that cushions the space between the bones.
In brief
Arthroscopy is minimally invasive surgery that inspects the inside of a joint with a tiny camera inserted through small cuts.
The surgeon does not open the joint: they go in through peepholes and work facing a screen.
Saline is pumped in to distend the joint, and the arthroscope sends the picture to a video monitor while the surgeon works.
Thin instruments go in through other cuts to repair or remove what is damaged, such as a torn meniscus.
Sources (2)
- MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of MedicineKnee arthroscopy, MedlinePlus Medical EncyclopediaPublished
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAnkle Arthroscopy, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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