A knee arthroscopy means that a camera is put inside the knee joint. The picture appears on a television screen and almost all the area inside the knee is visible.
The operation is done under a general anaesthetic. In most cases it will be done as a day case. If you have a medical condition you may need to stay in overnight.
2 or 3 small cuts (about 1 cm in length) are made in the front of the knee. The camera goes in through one of these and instruments go in through the other cuts. It is possible to move the structures in the knee with a probe to see if they are damaged. This is an advantage over a MRI scan. If structures are damaged they will be either removed or repaired. Sometimes it is not possible to improve the knee by doing arthroscopic surgery as the wear and tear may be too advanced. Patients who are older, with a lot of wear and tear and in poor physical condition generally do not benefit from an arthroscopy.
It may not be possible to improve your knee because you have an ongoing degenerative process.
1 in 50 patients will require a 2nd arthroscopy to tidy the knee up further.
You probably will be able to walk fully on the knee after surgery. Some people are put on crutches depending on what is done in the knee.
The operation is done under a general anaesthetic. This carries certain risks to the heart and the lungs.
These risks are very low and only 1 in 1000 patients will have any problem. The risks will be increased if you have a medical condition such as angina, high blood pressure, asthma, airways disease or diabetes or if you are overweight. It is important to discuss any medical condition prior to surgery. Please bring all tablets that you are on when you are coming in.
Please ring the office if you have a cold or a flu illness.
The actual arthroscopy itself also carries its own risks to the leg.
About 1 in 200 people will develop a significant clot in the leg. This can be treated by so called blood-thinning agents for 6 weeks. A very small number of these clots will travel to the lungs. The risk is greater if you have had a clot in the past or have vein problems. It is important to stop the oral contraceptive pill 4 weeks prior to surgery.
About 1 in 1000 people will develop an infection in the knee. This infection may clear up with antibiotics in hospital. However in some cases it may cause permanent damage to the joint leading to arthritis.
The small cuts may go through skin nerves, which may cause some numb areas or even pain. This usually improves with time and is only a problem in less than 1 in 100 patients.
I hope this does not alarm you. The risks involved are very small. Everything will be done to make sure that you have no problems. Please discuss anything you are worried about.
Please note that although you will be having an arthroscopy, what is done inside the knee can vary greatly between patients. Your discomfort and recovery time may be very different from someone who had the operation on the same day.
Make sure that you have pain killers (Nurofen, Aspirin or Paracetamol) to take after the operation.
It is best to take Paracetamol every 6 hours on the day before the operation and afterwards.
Breandán Long