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How Arthroscopy Works

Spine and Orthopedic Center of New Mexico Blog How Arthroscopy Works

When you're facing orthopedic surgery, the thought of a long and painful recovery can be scary. However, surgical technology has come a long way, allowing our team to use minimally invasive techniques for procedures that used to require large incisions. Arthroscopy is just one of the minimally invasive procedures that gets you back on your feet more quickly.

At The Spine and Orthopedic Center of New Mexico, our team members are experts in minimally invasive surgical techniques. Dr. Omar Osmani, our orthopedic surgeon, specializes in arthroscopic surgery.

What is an arthroscopy?

Surgery is a significant event, especially when it's being done to fix joint problems. However, with today's technology, surgery is less invasive than before, and it's due to a procedure known as arthroscopy.

An arthroscopy is a type of surgery Dr. Osmani uses to diagnose and treat problems inside your joints. The procedure only requires tiny incisions, because the instruments used for the surgery are very small. This means less scarring and a quicker recovery time. So how does this high tech procedure work?

To perform an arthroscopy, Dr. Osmani makes a few tiny incisions and inserts an instrument known as an arthroscope. This instrument has a tiny camera on the end along with a light, which allows Dr. Osmani to see inside of your joint space. The arthroscope is connected to a video monitor, so the team sees the entire inside of your joint.

This procedure is primarily used to diagnose problems in your joint, however, sometimes Dr. Osmani is able to repair damage with the tiny instruments as well. If he sees the problem that’s causing your pain, he makes another tiny incision where he inserts the surgical instruments to either take out or repair the damage.

Conditions treated with arthroscopy

Arthroscopic surgery is the preferred method because it’s minimally invasive and it helps treat many different causes of joint pain. Dr. Osmani may suggest an arthroscopy if you suffer from pain in any of these joints:

Arthroscopic surgery can also be performed in smaller joints, such as your ankle and wrist. If you’re having pain in any of these joints, arthroscopic surgery helps to diagnose the problem. The conditions that are also treatable with arthroscopic surgery include:

Arthroscopy also shows chronic conditions that could be the cause of your pain, such as arthritis. Although this condition isn’t curable, it can be managed, and with arthroscopy, Dr. Osmani can see the amount of damage it has caused within your joint. This helps him to formulate a treatment plan to help get your pain under control.

Benefits of arthroscopic surgery

Arthroscopic surgery has certainly changed the way doctors all over the world perform joint procedures. It not only reduces the incision size, it also decreases the overall tissue damage that’s caused by more traditional types of open surgical procedures. However, arthroscopy has many other benefits, including:

Of course, like any other procedure, arthroscopy has its limits. To determine if this type of procedure is right for you, Dr. Osmani assesses your pain and completes a thorough exam on the area that’s causing you problems. He also examines any imaging that you’ve had to determine if arthroscopy is beneficial to your treatment plan.

Don't let joint pain continue to affect your life. To find out if arthroscopy could work for you, call the Spine and Orthopedic Center of New Mexico team at 575-623-9101 or book an appointment online today.

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