What is a knee scope?
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Using a small, thin arthroscope your knee surgeon can look inside your knee and repair damage and tears. You can watch a video of a "knee arthroscopic surgery" on MayoClinic.com.
You may want to research your diagnosis and make sure that arthroscopy has been proven effective in treating it. It would help me to explain if I knew your diagnosis, but if you are having pain, swelling, catching, etc., arthroscopy may help.
You usually will need to get a full physical exam.
The actual surgery is usually done out-patient, meaning you can go home that day. You may even be awake for surgery.
You usually do not eat past midnight the night before your surgery.
The day of your surgery you go in and get comfortable. They will come in and go over your history, wash up the leg, and get you sedated. You may have an IV inserted, depending on whether you will be awake or asleep for your surgery.
Once you are numb and comfortable or asleep, the surgeon will make two very small cuts in either side of your knee so he can put in a thin, flexible scope. Pictures of the inside of your knee are up on a screen for him to see as he uses the camera in the scope to look around.
Once he is finished repairing your knee, the surgeon will put in a couple of stitches, bandage the knee and you will be taken back to recovery. In a few minutes you should be awake and should feel no pain. Once you are able to urinate, eat/drink and walk and there is no obvious problems, you will be given your instructions on home care.
You can expect a few days of elevating the knee at home while taking narcotic pain medicine. Many people walk out of the hospital without assistance. Recovery is usually short, like a week or two. Often physical therapy is prescribed after surgery.
Some very good sites for information on arthroscopic knee surgery are:
Orthoinfo.com
WebMD
ClevelandClinic.com
WebMD has a video of an actual arthroscopic knee surgery and it is not gross.
Depending on what you are having done and what the diagnosis is, your recovery could be a day or two to two weeks.
You should not have much discomfort and will be sent home with medicine for pain, signs and symptoms of infection and who to call if it occurs, a follow-up appointment, etc.
Hope this helps answer your question.
Imagine this, two small "red pimple bust marks" on both sides of your lower kneecap. A small tiny camera inserted in these marks to view the inside of the knee, at the same time, a probe inserted to scrape or repair parts of cartilage or meniscus. The result depends on how badly the knee is damaged. Mine for example resulted in a torn meniscus, but as well, a cyst that formed on the inside. On my other knee scope, they performed a lateral release and cleaned out some "ugly" cartilage. I also received pictures of what the inside looked like before and after. In one scope I was back on my feet later that day, on the torn meniscus, it took me a week to get back on my feet and over 3 months to fully recover. Hope this gives you some insight and that unless you truly need this done, you don't go through it.
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