Arthroscopic Practices in Orthopedics

Answer 1

Arthroscopic surgery has allowed orthopedic surgeons to really branch out in recent years and get better ideas of why and how injuries occur in joints. Orthopedics is the study of musculoskeleton injuries that occur due to infections, cancer, sports-related injuries, or degenerative conditions. Arthroscopic surgeons have been specially trained to be able to closely examine the area where a person is experiencing pain and remedy that problem through either surgical techniques or by other means of relief.

Orthopedics has a long history of examining such injuries as carpal tunnel, hand fractures, knee/hip replacements, and shoulder-related injuries. Only within the past 20 to 30 years has the practice of using arthroscopic procedures become prevalent in orthopedic examinations. As a general rule, arthroscopy is usually concerned with just injuries to the joints, more specifically the shoulder and the knee.

After meeting with an orthopedic surgeon, a patient’s likelihood for relief from minimally invasive arthroscopic proceedings is assessed. Cartilage tears are usually the best candidates to respond to some level of arthroscopy. Slight tears in the meniscus or ACL/MCL in the knee are the prime candidates for receiving arthroscopic procedures. Rotator cuff injuries and inflammatory diseases in the shoulder can also be remedied by orthopedic surgeons. Arthroscopic procedures can also remove tiny bone fragments that have become loose in the knee or shoulder areas of the body.

By using numerous small incisions instead of making one large incision, the orthopedic surgeon can examine the different parts of the injured area while still maintaining a minimally invasive way of remedying the problem. A small light will illuminate the area allowing for the surgeon to perform the necessary procedures.

While there are still the inherent risks in arthroscopic surgery as there are in other surgeries, the fact that orthopedic surgeons use such small amounts of invasive techniques make it less risky than a normal surgery would be. Some effects of having arthroscopic surgery are blood clotting in the area of the surgery, infections in the area being examined by the surgeon, and general trouble with anesthesia.