Surgical technology in today’s day and age is constantly evolving to ensure that the incisions are smaller, the patient’s recovery time is shorter and the overall management is efficient.
Doctors are constantly asked questions like, what is the advanced way to treat a joint problem? How will the experience be improved? What will be the recovery time be? And the most frequent is if the procedure is less scary and painful than open surgery? Ortho surgeons, like the rest are constantly strive to improve the experience of their patients and hence came the procedure called Arthroscopy. The world of orthopedic medicine transformed completely with the discovery of this new method.
The dynamic procedure is used for diagnosis as well as treating of complaints in the joints. It effectively reduces the pain and time taken for treatment and to recover from it. About one-third people in the world complain about the range of joint problems, due strain, and usage. It is important to take regular care advice from a professional to have healthy joints and less friction during regular movements. Athletes need a dose of extra care to continue their sports with hiccups.
Easier vision –
Before the discovery of the arthroscopy, the orthopedic surgeons were not able to see the muscles of the joints. They had to cut open the complaint area, only to have accurate vision.
The invasive surgery for exploration has been reduced tremendously due to an arthroscopic procedure. The procedure includes the creation of a small incision by the surgeon with state of the art, pencil size instrument called arthroscope.It consists of a camera on the end, to project a clear picture of the joint on the monitor.
Minute details are displayed on the monitor. The magnified image helps the surgeon to make an accurate decision that is perhaps difficult to do from other tests like X-ray and MRI.
Diagnosis and treatment in the same surgery –
The conditions that can be diagnosed easily are Arthritis, Inflammation,Tendon and Cartilage Damage, Dislocation and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Once the condition has been diagnosed, the surgeon can start the treatment by making another small incision. The advancement in the arthroscopy has made it possible to diagnose and treat the condition at the same time.
The exact location of the damaged joint is treated with precision instruments.
A torn tendon or cartilage can be repaired immediately, while a diagnosis of fluid aspiration or biopsies may need further assistance. Few injuries that are diagnosed with arthroscopic procedures can be healed with regenerative medicines,like Stem Cell Therapy and PRP.
Easy recovery and less hospital stay –
Arthroscopy is changing patient’s perception about joint related surgeries. The doctors too have realized the true potential of the procedure.The procedure not only provides equivalent outcomes to “open” surgery, it has many advantages. In minor arthroscopic surgery, the patients are not given anesthesia and are discharged on the same day.
In spite of being a surgical procedure, the recovery time and pain is reduced to few days from weeks and months. The recovery time depends on sex and age of the patients. Sometimes there is no need for pain relief medication as the incisions made are very small.
This also reduces the overall cost of the entire treatment.