Knee Arthroscopy

Knee Arthroscopy

Knee arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure. Healthcare providers use knee arthroscopy to diagnose and treat a range of knee injuries. Your healthcare provider makes a small incision and then inserts a long, thin tool with a camera on the end. The camera shows images of the inside of your knee, which helps your healthcare provider make a diagnosis of your injury.

What is knee arthroscopy?

Healthcare providers use knee arthroscopy to diagnose and treat a wide range of knee injuries. During arthroscopic knee surgery, your healthcare provider inserts a tiny camera through an incision. The camera shows the inside of your knee. The images appear on a screen in the operating room. They help your healthcare provider diagnose problems inside of your knee.

Knee arthroscopy is a very common minimally invasive surgical procedure. Minimally invasive procedures require smaller incisions (cuts) than traditional surgery. The incisions are about the size of a keyhole.

To treat injuries or structural problems, your healthcare provider inserts tiny tools through another incision. They use the tools to repair or remove damaged tissue.

Who needs knee arthroscopy?

Your healthcare provider may recommend knee arthroscopy if you have knee pain that doesn’t get better with nonsurgical treatments. Nonsurgical treatments include rest, ice, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and physical therapy (PT). Although arthritis causes knee pain, arthroscopic knee surgery isn’t always an effective treatment for osteoarthritis.

Healthcare providers use arthroscopy to get a better look at cartilage, bones and soft tissues inside of your knee. They use the procedure to diagnose several types of knee injuries. Most of these injuries affect ligaments and cartilage in your knee joint.

Knee injuries among athletes (including adolescents) are very common. They can happen in contact sports and those that require jumping, such as volleyball.