Knee Arthroscopy in Pune
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What is Knee Arthroscopy?
Arthroscopic Knee Surgery is a keyhole procedure performed for checking and repairing ligaments and cartilage in your knee joint. It can help find the cause of pain, swelling and stiffness in the knee joint.
- Why is it Performed?
Knee Arthroscopy can be done for a number of reasons.
- To find the cause of joint problem –
Like Joint pain, Swelling and stiffness, Knee giving way or locking
If MRI can’t find any problem in the knee then only a Diagnostic Knee Arthroscopy is performed.
- To check the Health of your Joint –
To check the damage to cartilage or joint like in arthritis
- To repair Damage in your Joints –
Repairing the damaged cartilage, Meniscus repair or Ligament reconstruction like ACL, PCL or MCL ligaments.
Conditions Treated with Knee Arthroscopy
- Meniscus Tears
- ACL Injury
- PCL Injury
- Cartilage Damage
- Inflammation or Loose Fragments
- MCL injuries
- Popliteal Cysts
How Arthroscopic Knee Surgery Works
How is surgery done ?
Knee arthroscopies are performed in an operating theatre under Anaesthesia. You will arrive, have your operation and leave for home on the same day or next day (you will not be able to drive home).
It can take between 60 and 90 minutes in the operating theatre. The skin around your knee is cleaned and sterilised. Two or three cuts are made in the knee, one for inserting the arthroscope (Camera) and the others for instruments.
Sterile fluid is put into your knee to enable the surgeon to see inside the joint and any necessary surgery to be carried out. The incisions are then closed with removable stitches or Steri-strips and the knee padded and bandaged.
Is it better than Open Surgery ?
It’s a minimally invasive surgery so recovery is usually very fast and patients start walking in a few hours after surgery. Involves minimal scar and pain compared with an open surgery.
Arthroscopic surgery also has minimal blood loss and minimal risk of any surgical complications.
Arthroscopic ACL Surgery Explained
If you tear the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in your knee, you may need to have reconstructive surgery.
The ACL is a tough band of tissue joining the thigh bone to the shin bone at the knee joint.
It runs diagonally through the inside of the knee and gives the knee joint stability. It also helps to control the back-and-forth movement of the lower leg.
Common causes of an ACL injury include:
- landing incorrectly from a jump
- stopping suddenly
- changing direction suddenly
- having a collision, such as during a football tackle or sports injury
If the ACL is torn, your knee may become very unstable and lose its full range of movement.
This can make it difficult to perform certain movements, such as turning on the spot. Some sports may be impossible to play
- What is ACL Reconstruction?
A torn ACL cannot be repaired by stitching it back together, but it can be reconstructed by attaching (grafting) new tissue inplace of it.
The ACL can be reconstructed by removing what remains of the torn ligament and replacing it with a tendon from another area of the leg, such as the hamstring or patellar tendon.
- Benefits of Arthroscopic ACL Surgery
Reconstruction of the ACL ligament will restore the stability in your knee joint and one will be able to get back to sports after completing recovery.
Not undergoing ACL reconstruction when it’s unstable means the knee will get damaged further and will eventually wear out leading to arthritis or serious injuries.
Performing Arthroscopic ACL reconstruction means faster recovery, minimal scars and minimal pain.
- Recovery Expectations
After surgery usually the mobilization starts from same day
You will have a Knee Brace in situ
The knee bending will be gradually started , it’ll be 6 weeks before you achieve full Knee range of movement
Getting back to sports may be as early as 6 months to 1 year. Few newer grafting techniques can lead to faster recovery and earlier return to sports.
Your surgeon will advise you about a structured rehabilitation programme. It’s very important that you follow the programme, so your recovery is as successful as possible.
The exercises will include movements to bend, straighten and raise your leg. Ask if you’re unsure about how to do any of the exercises.
You’ll also be given crutches to help you move around.
Before and After the Surgery
- Pre-operative Phase
Before having knee surgery, you may need to wait for any swelling to go down and for the full range of movement to return to your knee.
You may also need to wait until the muscles at the front of your thigh (quadriceps) and back of your thigh (hamstrings) are as strong as possible.
If you do not have the full range of movement in your knee before having surgery, your recovery will be more difficult.
- Post-operative Care and Recovery Timeline
It’s likely to take at least 6 weeks after the injury occurred for the full range of movement to return.
After knee surgery, the wound will be closed with stitches or surgical clips. If the stitches are dissolvable, they should disappear after about 3 weeks.
Your knee will be bandaged and you may have to use Ice Packs. Ice packs will help reduce the swelling. You may also be given pain killing medicine.
You may have painful bruising, swelling and redness down the front of your shin and ankle.
These symptoms are temporary and should start to improve after about 1 week.
- Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation
Weeks 1 to 2 of your recovery
For 1 to 2 weeks, your knee is likely to be swollen and stiff, and you may need to take painkillers.
Weeks 2 to 6 of your recovery
Once the pain and swelling have settled, you may be advised to increase or change your exercises. Your physiotherapist will advise you about what exercises to do.
The exercises will help you to:
- fully extend and bend your knee
- strengthen your leg muscles
- improve your balance
- begin to walk properly
After 2 to 3 weeks, you should be able to walk without crutches.
Weeks 6 to 24 of your recovery
You should gradually be able to return to your normal level of activity between 6 weeks and 6 months after your knee operation.
You’ll be encouraged to continue with activities such as cycling and swimming but should avoid sports that involve a lot of twisting, jumping or turning.
This is because you need to allow enough time for the grafted tissue to anchor itself in place inside your knee.
After 6 months
After 6 months, you may be able to return to playing sport.
Some people may need to take more time before feeling confident enough to play sports again.
Returning to work
How quickly you can return to work after having knee surgery will depend on what your job involves.If you work in an office, you may be able to return to work after 2 to 3 weeks.If you do any form of manual labour, it could be up to 3 months before you can return to work, depending on your work activities.
Success Rate and Patient Outcomes
ACL reconstruction is a well established successful surgery being performed very routinely allowing people to get back to their active lifestyle.
Why Choose Dr Vinayak Ghanate for Arthroscopic Knee Surgery
Dr Vinayak Ghanate is specialised trained for sports injury and knee arthroscopic surgery during his training in England.. He has been actively involved in treating many athletes including world class international sportsman’s.
Dr Vinayak Ghanate performs the surgery with Minimally invasive technique and newr implant fixation techniques which makes recovery very fast. Along with it He uses Enhanced Recovery pathways in recovery which makes walking possible from the day of surgery.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to the most common questions about our services, appointments, and healthcare support to help you get the information you need quickly and easily.
Surgery usually takes about 60-90 minutes to finish
There is minimal pain which will be controlled by painkillers
Daily activities can be resumed after 2-3 weeks
Usually after 5-6 weeks one is comfortable to start driving
Usually after 5-6 weeks one is comfortable to start driving
Usually after 5-6 weeks one is comfortable to start driving
It would need minimal 6 months to 9 months before returning to active sports
