Knee Arthroscopy

Knee arthroscopy, also known as a knee scope, is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that your orthopedic surgeon may use to evaluate a variety of conditions affecting your knee joint. Knee arthroscopy can be used to address ACL tears, meniscal tears, and remove loose bodies in the joint, among many other conditions.

During knee arthroscopy small incisions are made to allow a tiny camera and surgical equipment to pass through. This provides your surgeon a detailed view of the knee joint. Because of the smaller incisions, there is often less pain, less stiffness, and a shorter recovery time when compared to open surgery.

Knee arthroscopy is often an outpatient procedure and may be performed under general or regional anesthesia. After your surgery, our team will develop a personalized recovery plan including physical therapy and pain management.

Knee arthroscopy is a very versatile procedure that is used in combination with a wide variety of other techniques to help manage knee pain and injuries. A consultation with one of our surgeons at Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster will help determine if knee arthroscopy is an appropriate tool to help address your knee pain. 

Types of Treatment:

• Knee arthroscopy and meniscectomy used to evaluate and treat meniscal tears by resecting the tear
• Knee arthroscopy and ACL repair to evaluate and reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)
• Knee arthroscopy and cartilage transplantation used to correct cartilage defects within the knee joint
• Knee arthroscopy and microfracture used to visualize cartilage defects and help stimulate the regrowth of fibrous cartilage within those defects
• Removal of loose bodies such as articular cartilage and/or scar tissue that can form after trauma and become free-floating in the joint.
• Arthroscopy may be used in urgent situations such as with treatment of infections in the joint, related to septic arthritis or gout. This involves a saline flush of the areas to help clean out the infection.

Diagnosis

• Meniscal Tear
• ACL Tear
• PCL Tear
• Cartilage Defect
• Osteoarthritis