Arthroscopy Surgery

Your doctor will perform arthroscopic surgery in a hospital or outpatient operating room. The type of anesthesia you’ll receive depends on the joint and what your surgeon suspects is the problem. It may be general anesthesia (you’ll be asleep during surgery), or your doctor will give it to you through your spine. They might also numb the area they are doing the surgery on.

Your doctor will insert special pencil-thin instruments through a small cut (incision) the size of a buttonhole. The arthroscope tool they use has a camera lens and a light. It allows them to see inside the joint. The camera projects an image of the joint onto a screen. The surgeon will fill the joint with sterile fluid to widen it so it’s easier to see.

They’ll look inside the joint, diagnose the problem, and decide what type of surgery you need, if any. If you do need surgery, your surgeon will insert special tools through other small incisions called portals. They’ll use them to cut, shave, grasp, and anchor stitches into bone.

If your surgeon decides you need traditional, “open” surgery to fix the problem, they may do it at the same time as your arthroscopic surgery.

Afterward, they’ll remove the arthroscope and any attachments. They’ll close the wound with special tape or stitches.