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A U G U S T 2 0 1 4 | S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
outpatient discharges and rapid rehabilita-
tion. Here are some of the ways
arthroscopy's advances over the past
decade or two have made the process
more efficient, more effective and safer.
Visual evolution
The most commonly performed arthro-
scopic procedures, by a long margin, are
meniscectomies in the knees and shoulder
repairs of all types, such as rotator cuff
and labrum tears. Knees and shoulders are
large joints, so those areas are amenable
to arthroscopy, but the reason why they
see the most frequent treatment is simple
epidemiology: They're the joints that are
injured most often. But arthroscopy
enables a view into any joint — knee,
shoulder, hip, ankle, elbow or wrist — and
the view has only improved over time.
The original innovation of arthroscopy
in the mid-1960s was its pencil-thin probe,
which, when coupled with a light source
and magnifying lens, offered orthopedic
surgeons a look inside the joint without
opening it up. Since then, the arthroscope
has evolved into even more sophisticated
equipment. Fiber optics have replaced
bulbs for providing light, while high-defini-
tion miniaturized cameras and video mon-
itors have changed the view of surgery
M I N I M A L L Y I N V A S I V E S U R G E R Y
SEE YOUR WAY CLEAR Arthroscopic technology
allows minimally invasive views and interventions
where open surgery was once the only option.