Arthroscopic surgery (also known as keyhole surgery) is that procedure where the doctor looks inside a joint in your body through a thin viewing instrument, called an arthroscope. He examines joint surfaces and surrounding soft tissues, ligaments, cartilage and then provides a cushion between the bones. This process is used in the diagnoses of a joint problem, and then perform surgery for repairing any joint problem, removing a loose or foreign body, or for monitoring a disease or the end result of any treatment. It is performed on shoulder, elbow, knee, wrist, hip and ankle.
During the process, arthroscope with attached light source and a video camera is inserted into the joint through an incision made in the skin. The images can be seen on the monitor which give a proper view of the condition of the patient’s joints. When surgery is performed, more instruments are inserted into the joints through smaller incisions.
Arthroscopy Why it's done - Tests and Procedures
Arthroscopy is done in following cases:
For evaluating and diagnosing problem in a joint problem other diagnostic tests do not prove to be helpful
For performing surgery to repair a joint problem that includes the following :
Repairing or trimming soft tissues
Damaged or torn cartilage
Cutting, repairing or reconstructing ligaments
Removal of calcium deposit from bone tissue
Removal of an inflamed scar tissue of joint lining
Collecting samples of joint fluid
Types Of Arthroscopy
Knee - The doctor looks inside the patient’s knee to find out what exactly is causing the problem and what the problem actually is. Whether there is a tear of one of the cartilages or whether one of the ligaments within the knee joint is torn. Another reason may be a loose piece of bone in the knee joint or there might arthritis in part of the knee. After diagnosis, the surgery is done
Shoulder – The doctor looks inside the patient’s shoulder to diagnose the exact problem and its cause. There can be a number of problems for which surgery can be required such as in some people, the shoulder might be coming out of the joint. In others, the condition of the tendons above the shoulder joint has to be seen.
Wrist – In wrist arthroscopy, the surgeon diagnoses and treats various problems related to the patient’s wrist with the help of a number of extremely small incisions. According to statistics, during the last 5 years, wrist has become the third most common joint to undergo arthroscopy, after knee and shoulder. Since the incisions are smaller, the pain, swelling and stiffness are also reduced with quicker recovery.
Elbow - In elbow arthroscopy, the surgeon inserts arthroscope (with an attached camera), into the patient’s elbow joint. The camera shows the pictures on the TV monitor and the surgeon uses these pictures for guiding his surgical instruments. He makes small cuts in the elbow makes the pain and swelling less but recover faster.
Hip – In hip arthroscopy, the surgeon performs his task by making small incisions that are around 1 cm each, using a camera so that he can look inside the hip joint. This process is much less invasive than the other traditional procedures.
The Benefits of Arthroscopic Surgery
Arthroscopy helps the doctor to see what is wrong with the joint. It has the following benefits:
It is usually less painful
It is less costly than open surgery
Allows quick recovery (depending on what has been done)
In most of the cases, no overnight stay in a hospital is required
Cost of Arthroscopic Surgery in India
From past few years, India has become a favorite destination for medical tourism. The main reason is that a patient is offered excellent medical services at prices which are extremely affordable. In a similar manner like others, the cost of arthroscopic surgery in India is also quite pocket-friendly in comparison to the western countries. You get treated in top-notch medical institutions of the country and from doctors who are internationally trained who get assistance of extremely trained staff.
