What Age-Related Issues Can PRP Treat?
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a revolutionary treatment for many issues, including age-related joint pain and injuries. Read on to learn what other issues PRP can treat as you age.
5 Benefits of Arthroscopy
Joint pain can keep you away from your normal activity. If you’ve tried home treatments and still haven’t found relief, you may need a procedure known as arthroscopy.
Arthroscopic joint surgery is a procedure that helps our team not only diagnose the problem in your joint but fix any issues that are causing pain.
The six orthopedic surgeons at Alpha Orthopedics and Sports Medicine are experts in arthroscopic surgery. Whether you have shoulder, knee, or hip pain, the team provides excellent care through minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery to get you back on your feet.
What is arthroscopic surgery?
Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure our specialists use to both treat and diagnose problems within a joint. This type of surgery is growing in popularity because of its many benefits.
You’ll be under anesthesia for this type of surgery. Our specialists perform the procedure with a surgical instrument known as an arthroscope. This is a long, thin tube with a high-definition camera on the end.
The arthroscope connects to a TV monitor in the operating room, allowing our specialists to see inside your joint. The arthroscope is inserted through one or two tiny incisions around the problematic joint.
If our team sees any problems within your joint with the arthroscope, they make another small incision where they can insert other surgical instruments to fix the issue. While not all problems are fixable through arthroscopy, our team makes the best effort to avoid more invasive surgery.
Five benefits of an arthroscopy
Our orthopedic specialists prefer to use arthroscopic surgery for joint problems because of its many benefits. It’s a state-of-the-art way to provide pain relief and increased functionality in damaged joints. Some of the significant benefits of this procedure include:
1. Minimally invasive
Other forms of joint surgery require large incisions and damage to the surrounding tissues. Arthroscopic surgery only requires a few tiny incisions, allowing the team to keep the tissues around your joint intact.
2. Smaller incisions
Tiny incisions are one of the most significant benefits of arthroscopic surgery. These minor cuts allow our team to see inside your joint and fix any issues without needing large, painful incisions. This cuts down on your recovery time as well.
3. Faster recovery
Arthroscopic surgery allows for a much faster recovery than other types of joint surgery. This is due to the surgery’s smaller incisions, faster procedure, and minimal tissue damage. You typically have less pain and can get up and move quicker than through traditional joint surgery.
4. Less pain
The smaller incisions required for arthroscopic surgery mean less pain for you during and after the procedure. This is a big deal, as the post-operative period can be relatively painful with other forms of joint surgery.
5. Low risk of complications
Arthroscopic surgery is a safe procedure with few side effects or risks. With fewer and smaller incisions, your chance of complications from arthroscopic surgery is relatively low. This includes the risk of infection, blood loss, and anesthesia complications.
When do you need an arthroscopy?
An arthroscopy is both a diagnostic tool and a way for our team to fix minor or moderate issues in your joint. However, even though it’s minimally invasive, it’s still reserved for certain situations.
For example, if you’ve had joint pain for more than a few weeks and have tried various conservative measures without relief, our team suggests an arthroscopy. This helps them find the problem and potentially fix it without more involved surgery.
If you’ve suffered an injury during sports and imaging studies show an issue in your joint, our team also performs an arthroscopy to get you relief and back to your sport as soon as possible.
When you have pain from something like a loose piece of cartilage, torn cartilage or ligaments, or bone spurs, an arthroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure that is quick and efficient in relieving your pain with minimal recovery time.
Our team uses arthroscopic surgery for several joints, including your knees, shoulders, hips, and ankles. If you’re having pain in any of these joints that persists through other treatments, an arthroscopy may be the next step in your pain relief journey.
If you need arthroscopy, don’t hesitate to call our team at one of our three locations in McKinney, Prosper, and Sherman, Texas, to schedule an appointment with one of our orthopedic surgeons. You can also book a consultation using our online scheduling tool.
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