Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical technique that involves the introduction of a lens with a video camera into a joint through small incisions of no more than 5 millimeters. In this way, the surgeon “miniaturizes” and can easily access the entire joint, visualizing the structures that compose it in an even better way than if he had fully exposed it through a large incision.
Thanks to this, the procedures performed by this technique are of very fast recovery, much less painful and with a much lower morbidity (complication rate) than traditional open techniques, provided they are performed by surgeons trained in this technique.
Sports injuries tend to occur primarily in high intensity professional competition, but unfortunately also occur in non-professional athletes. In many cases, surgical treatment of the injury is needed to repair the damage. In these cases, it is usual to talk about the operation using the arthroscopy technique.
It is widely used on the knee and also on the shoulders. With this technique, cruciate ligament injuries of the knee and meniscus injuries are operated, a couple of examples that are common in the world of sports.
The surgical intervention lasts approximately thirty minutes in an outpatient hospitalization day. The patient spends the day in the service arriving in the morning and leaving in the afternoon if no complications arise.
This type of surgery requires greater training and experience on the part of the trauma specialist who performs it, however, it has a series of advantages for the patient, such as:
1. Tissue damage is as little as possible as there is no need to cut structures such as muscles, ligaments or the capsule to access the joint.
2. Regional anesthesia schemes can be used, which is favorable in people with high surgical risk, especially due to a cardiovascular history.
3. Recovery time is much shorter, even the procedure can be carried out on an outpatient basis so that the patient can go home the same day and can also go back to work more quickly.
4. It is associated with a lower percentage of complications than open surgery.
5. It has a better aesthetic effect.
6. It is less expensive than conventional surgery.
