Arthroscopic Surgery

Many joint injuries and diseases can now be corrected with a type of surgery that requires only very small incisions. Orthopaedic surgeons can use an arthroscope—a long, narrow viewing device about the size of pencil—to look inside joints and diagnose the problem. Video pictures of the inside of the joint, taken by a tiny camera mounted on the arthroscope and shown on a monitor, aid the surgeon in making the repairs.

Because arthroscopic surgery requires incisions that may be only a quarter of an inch long, patients generally experience less pain and recover much faster than with traditional surgery.