The advent of endoscopes, tiny fiberoptic cameras allowing doctors and surgeons to diagnose and treat patients, have allowed procedures to be much less invasive. Moreover, because they can get the full scope of how an organ is functioning without cutting the patient open, endoscopes allow doctors to observe patients and determine care more accurately.
Arthroscopy, a minimally invasive surgical joint procedure, is a type of endoscopy focused on joint treatment and surgery. This is minimally invasive in that it is inserted through a small incision opposite another incision for the miniature operating tools. The surgeon can then observe and conduct the surgical procedure with a monitor projecting images from the arthroscope.
Not only is the procedure minimally invasive, arthroscopic knee surgery recovery time is much less than that of traditional knee surgery. Because there is very minute incisions to the patient and the knee joint does not have to be fully opened, there is much less trauma to connective tissue. This means much quicker arthroscopic knee surgery recovery.
Arthroscopic knee surgery recovery is met with moderate swelling in the joint area that can take up to two weeks to disappear. Arthroscopic knee surgery recovery also involves instability in the knee that can be corrected with physical therapy exercises. Physical therapy clinics will advise an extended period of time, however, before any extensive activity such as running or walking over an extended distance.
The quick recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery is only a small part of the advances arthroscopy brings to joint surgery procedures. Because of the minimally invasive and fully observable capability available through endoscopes, they allow doctors to make more accurate diagnosis and with out having to perform lengthy or extensive blood testing.
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