Services | Orthopedics and Pain Medicine Physician located in Edison, Clifton, Hazlet, Jersey City and West Orange, NJ | Garden State Pain & Orthopedics

What is arthroscopic surgery?

Arthroscopic surgery is a minimally invasive technique that the team at Garden State Pain & Orthopedics uses to diagnose and treat problems inside your joint. Arthroscopy is a Greek word that literally translates as, “to look within the joint.”

This procedure uses a thin, flexible instrument called an arthroscope. The end of the arthroscope has a light and camera lens on it, which projects images of the inside of your joint onto a screen.

Arthroscopy allows your surgeon to visually examine the structures of your joint without damaging healthy tissues with a large incision. They can accurately diagnose your condition and repair damage through tiny incisions the size of a buttonhole.

Why would I need arthroscopic surgery?

In addition to performing a thorough physical exam and reviewing your medical history, your physician at Garden State Pain & Orthopedics may use arthroscopy to diagnose a problem inside one of your joints.

They most frequently use this technique on the following joints:

• Knee
• Wrist
• Shoulder
• Elbow
• Ankle
• Hip

They may use arthroscopic surgery to remove damaged tissue or repair structures within the joint. Common conditions that arthroscopic surgery treats include:

• Rotator cuff tears
• Shoulder impingement
• Recurrent shoulder dislocations
• Meniscus tears
• ACL tears
• Carpal tunnel syndrome

In some cases, the team at Garden State Pain & Orthopedics may combine arthroscopy with traditional, open surgery.  

What happens during arthroscopic surgery?

Depending on your specific condition, the team at Garden State Pain & Orthopedics may perform arthroscopic surgery as an outpatient procedure, which means you can avoid a hospital visit.

Before your procedure, your physician discusses your options for anesthesia. Arthroscopic surgery is less painful and easier to recover from than open surgery, but you will still need a local, spinal, or general anesthetic.

During the procedure, your surgeon makes one or more small incisions, or ports, around the affected joint. If necessary, they insert miniature surgical instruments into these ports to repair damaged tissue. Then, they cover the incisions with a bandage.

Compared to open surgery, arthroscopy offers numerous benefits, including:

• Less pain and scarring
• Faster recovery
• Minimal risk of infection

To find out if you’re a good candidate for arthroscopic surgery, call Garden State Pain & Orthopedics or book an appointment online today.