Arthroscopic Surgery in New Orleans
What is arthroscopic surgery?
Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that allows your surgeon at OANO to visually inspect and treat injuries and damage inside your joint without making a large incision.
During arthroscopic surgery, your OANO surgeon makes a tiny incision, about the size of a buttonhole, and inserts the arthroscope, a specialized instrument about the width of a pencil, into the incision.
This instrument is a thin tube with a tiny fiber-optic camera lens and lighting system that projects an image onto a screen. Since your surgeon can examine the interior of your joint in great detail on that screen, confirming a diagnosis is easier than with imaging tests or open surgery.
Through an additional small incision, your doctor can treat many orthopaedic conditions, such as removing damaged tissue, tightening ligaments, or treating tears.
With arthroscopic techniques, the surgeons at OANO can treat problems in your knee, shoulder, or ankle with a minimally invasive procedure. That means less scarring, quicker recovery, and a better outcome for you.
What knee, shoulder, and ankle problems can arthroscopic surgery treat?
The team at OANO is skilled at arthroscopic surgery to treat several types of problems, including pain at these sites:
Knee Pain:
- Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears
- Meniscus tears
- Knee cartilage damage
Shoulder Issues:
- Rotator cuff repair, including double row repairs
- Subacromial decompression to remove bone spurs
- Labral repair for shoulder instability and dislocations
Ankle Stress:
- Tightening stretched ligaments
- Repairing Cartilage damage
- Removing bone spurs
What are the benefits of arthroscopic surgery?
Arthroscopic surgery is a minimally invasive procedure, which offers several benefits compared to traditional open surgery, such as:
- Less pain
- Smaller scars
- Shorter recovery time
- Faster return to your favorite activities
- Reduced risk of infection
- Less damage to surrounding tissues
What should I expect after arthroscopic surgery?
Arthroscopic surgery still requires anesthesia and some downtime for recovery, but it’s not uncommon for patients to return to work or school within a few days after the procedure.
Your OANO physician explains how to properly care for the incisions while your wounds heal and works with you to create a plan for recovery.
If you have joint pain in your knee, shoulder, or ankle, that hasn’t shown any improvement with early treatment, call Orthopaedic Associates of New Orleans or click online to learn more about your options for arthroscopic surgery today.
