Arthroscopic surgery - small incision, less pain, quick recovery

At present, endoscopic surgery can be applied for many diseases, such as appendectomy, hernia, large intestine, small intestine, thyroid, or even breast surgery, etc. Endoscopic surgery causes less injury with a smaller size of surgical wound, quick recovery, back home and return to normal daily life faster.

Arthroscopic surgery is divided into two types:

1. Open surgery (Open surgery), a simple surgery.

2. Minimally Invasive Surgery, a small incision by using tools to assist in the surgery.

What is arthroscopic surgery?

Arthroscopy is a surgery which a long tube-shaped camera are inserted into the joint, looking straight through the camera over the 20 past years ago. Later, the video cameras and special small surgical instruments were added, allowing the doctor to check for abnormalities in the joints and perform surgery by drilling to make a hole into the joints. This helps doctor to clearly diagnose by looking through the monitor connected from the video cameras, providing a right surgical treatment, with a better result over normal surgery that requires opening the wound and cutting out healthy tissue to see the surgery area clearly which is a major problem of joint surgery. To see inside the joints, it is necessary to open the scarred synovial membrane and easy to cause adhesion. Besdies, opening large wounds have a higher risk of infection and the joint surface that has been exposed to a large wound has a high risk of infection.

Endoscopic surgery can diagnose and treat the disease at the same time as the doctor can see abnormalities in the bone joints straight away. There is no need to open the wound extensively, just penetrates through the synovial membrane into the joint, and being operated the membrane around the joint is still enclosure at the same time. Chance of infection is reduced, preventing the joint surface from drying out. The healing time of the surgical wound and the synovial membrane is shorter. The muscle and rehabilitation of the operated joint returns to normal faster in which the anesthesia is unnecessary but an anesthetic to a specific part instead only. Using this endoscopic method to diagnose osteoarthritis It will help the doctor to check and diagnose more precisely than doing an X-ray CT scan or MRI because they can see the cause. and lesions directly

Advantages of endoscopic surgery

• Minimally invasive - endoscopic surgery for bone joints treatment. There will be a surgical wound that is much smaller than normal surgery. The wound size is 0.8-1.0 cm.

• Fast recovery - The fast recovery, shorten hospital staying, compared to normal surgery depending on the disease under operation. For example, a cloth cut of the large intestine spend 7-14 days in the hospital earlier is reduced to only 3-5 days, allowing patients to return to normal life faster.

• Reduce infection – stitches may not be necessary. The small surgical incision will help reduce the wound from surgery as the doctor doesn't need to cut the synovial membrane or surrounding tissue. This reduces the risk of infection and complications during surgery. It also helps to maintain the moisture of the joint skin as well.

What will happen after endoscopic surgery?

endoscopic surgery generally takes place relatively quickly. After the surgery, the patient firstly stays at the hospital and then can go back to stay at home.

Self-care taking after surgery

1. Take painkillers when feel pain, plus other drugs as prescribed by the doctor.

2. Apply warm or cold compresses according to the doctor's advice.

3. Get plenty of rest to allow your body to recover quickly.

4. Perform light exercise or physical therapy to help the muscles and joints gain back strength.

Recovery time for each patient may vary depending on the condition of the joints and surgery. The doctor will follow up on the patient's symptoms after the surgery until he recovers.

Contraindications for endoscopic surgery

A patient who does have problems with easily bleeding or blood clotting poorly should be avoided will cause the patient to lose a lot of blood during surgery.
Patients who have been through radiotherapy or have had many surgeries until there is quite a lot of fasciae because it makes it difficult to perform endoscopic surgery. In addition, there will be no space for blowing air to expand the abdominal cavity, resulting in no space for convenient surgery.

Dr. Max Sorjia Jirapongsathorn

Department of surgery