Arthroscopic treatment of knee joint injuries

What is knee joint arthroscopy?

• Knee injuries and their consequences

Knee joint injuries occur very frequently, for example as a result of practicing sports such as skiing, which expose our knees to various types of injuries. Ligaments, menisci, and articular cartilage usually absorb the entire energy of the injury. Many of these injuries do not leave permanent consequences; however, there is one condition – they must be treated.

Unfortunately, patients most often see a doctor when they can no longer walk and home treatment methods no longer help.

• How to treat knee injuries?

Many injuries or their consequences require surgical treatment.

An increasing number of knee joint surgeries are currently performed using arthroscopy – a modern, minimally invasive method that allows diagnosis and treatment of many knee and other joint conditions requiring surgical intervention.

This method is used for treating acute injuries and is also successfully applied in chronic joint diseases.

• What does arthroscopy involve?

The essence of this method is that an endoscope, called an arthroscope, equipped with a microcamera is inserted into the joint, allowing visualization on a monitor. Using special surgical instruments, even very complex operations can be performed without the need to open the joint. The course of the operation is observed on a television monitor, often with significant magnification. An experienced orthopedist can repair damaged parts of the joint, including cartilage, ligaments, and bone, in this way.

What knee injuries are treated using the arthroscopic method?

Arthroscopic procedures of the knee joints are performed for the purpose of:

• reconstruction of cruciate ligaments (anterior and posterior),
• treatment of damage within both menisci (lateral and medial),
• repair of certain cartilage surface injuries (in cases of chondromalacia, osteochondritis dissecans, etc.),
• removal of loose bodies (e.g., traumatically detached cartilage fragments),
• removal of inflamed synovial membrane,
• flushing and cleaning of the knee in case of infection.

Who undergoes arthroscopic knee joint procedures?

Arthroscopy is a surgical treatment method for the knee joint in patients who:

• have experienced joint injury or overload,
• suffer from significant pain or recurrent swelling due to various diseases,
• have joint instability or limited range of motion.

What are the indications for performing knee joint arthroscopy?

The most common indications for knee joint arthroscopy include, among others:

• meniscal injuries requiring suturing or partial removal of degenerated tissue,
• ligament injuries requiring suturing or reconstruction,
• cartilage damage requiring cleaning, coverage with special membranes, or osteochondral grafts,
• presence of loose bodies requiring removal.

What does the knee joint arthroscopy procedure look like?

The knee joint arthroscopy procedure is performed in an operating room under regional anesthesia (spinal) or general anesthesia. The patient is positioned lying on the operating table. The operated knee is placed on a special support. Before starting the operation, the knee joint is filled with a saline solution, and then the orthopedist inserts a camera (arthroscope) and micro surgical instruments into the patient’s knee joint through incisions. The orthopedist monitors the entire operation on a screen, where the camera provides a magnified image of the knee joint structures.

Depending on the complexity of the diagnosed damage, the operation can last from several minutes up to about 2 hours.