What is Arthroscopy & When Do You Need It?
Arthroscopy is a diagnostic procedure that is used to look inside your joints. It is generally used to look inside the major joints of your body, especially the knees. However, it can also be performed on your elbows, ankles, and shoulders. But why and when do you need to get this test done? Arthritis and joint problems are incredibly common in India, especially in people of advanced age. Arthroscopy can be prescribed to patients for a number of reasons based on the doctor’s diagnosis. So, let’s learn more about this diagnostic process and why you need it.
What’s The Arthroscopy Procedure?
As previously mentioned, Arthroscopy is performed on your major joints, such as knees, elbows, and shoulders. Before you learn about the details of how the procedure is performed, let’s review what the procedure aims to diagnose in the human body.
The Arthroscopy procedure is used to treat and diagnose problems inside your joints. This procedure is recommended for patients that have inflamed joints, injured joints, or suffer from diseases like osteoarthritis. The procedure looks to find the root cause of your problems and which can then be used to figure out the treatment process. As previously mentioned, this procedure can also be used to treat certain problems, making it a multipurpose procedure. Now that you know what it aims to achieve, let’s learn about how the procedure is performed in detail.
How Is Arthroscopy Done?
Arthroscopy is a surgical and diagnostic procedure that is performed in an outdoor operating room. The patient is free to leave after the procedure is complete and need not get admitted to the hospital. As a minor surgical procedure, you are still required to be under anesthesia, although the type of which depends on the site of the procedure.
Usually, patients are put under local anesthesia, and in certain cases, they are put under general anesthesia. The procedure begins with a small incision the size of a buttonhole at the site of the procedure. A pencil size camera with a light is inserted into the incision to look inside the joints. To ensure that the camera has enough space to move inside your joints, a special sterile fluid is injected into the incision to widen it.
Once the camera has a clear view of your joints, the surgeon can then diagnose the joint problem and decide on the course of action. As Arthroscopy is a multipurpose procedure, you can also use the same process to perform surgery on the joint in order to fix the problem.
In such cases, where surgery is needed, doctors will insert the surgical tools inside your joints through incisions called portals. These tools will then be used to shave, grasp, cut, or anchor stitches inside your joints/bones.
Once the procedure is successfully completed, doctors take out the camera and other surgical tools and close the incisions using stitches or special tape. That’s how the procedure of Arthroscopy is completed. Now, let’s learn about when your doctor might prescribe you this test.
When Do Doctors Order Arthroscopy?
Given that Arthroscopy is a fairly advanced procedure, doctors wait before prescribing it to patients. If you are visiting your doctor with new joint pain, chances are the doctor won’t prescribe this procedure to you right away. Here are some conditions where doctors will prescribe the procedure to you.
If you have persistent joint pain that is unresponsive to other medical treatments
If you suffer from arthritis pain that is not improving even after treatment
If you have an inflamed joint that is injured
Conclusion
So, that’s all you need to know about Arthroscopy and why it’s prescribed to patients. Arthroscopy is an excellent medical procedure that can be very helpful for people suffering from severe joint problems. If you, too, are suffering from joint pain with no relief, feel free to visit MediPulse hospital in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, for the best joint pain treatment and Arthroscopy procedure in Rajasthan. For more information about Arthroscopy at MediPulse, feel free to check out the hospital website.