We are currently seeing Chalmette patients at our Metairie Clinic. Call (504)309-6500, or email info@crescentcityortho.com

What to Expect After Arthroscopy

What to Expect After Arthroscopy

With arthroscopy providing numerous benefits for diagnosing and repairing your damaged joints, this surgical technique is a popular choice. Gone are the days of your surgeon having to perform traditional surgery to repair joint damage.

At Crescent City Orthopedics, our team specializes in minimally-invasive arthroscopy, which allows your surgeon to see inside your injured joint and treat it without making large incisions.

How arthroscopy works

When you think of surgical procedures, you might have concerns. But arthroscopy provides you with an alternative option that benefits you in many ways.

We use arthroscopy to diagnose and treat joint conditions in your:

During your procedure, your surgeon makes a tiny incision in the affected area and inserts a tube that has a fiber-optic camera on the end of it. It might sound far-fetched, but advanced technology has given us the tools to see the inside of your joint, making incisions the size of a button hole. 

The camera transmits the images to a high-definition video screen, allowing us to see every angle of the damaged area. In many cases, we can even repair your joint damage during arthroscopy using extremely thin surgical instruments. The procedure provides your surgeon with impeccable precision.

Types of anesthesia used for your procedure

During your procedure, we use various types of anesthesia depending on the nature of your injury. 

We might use local anesthesia to block sensations in a specific area, like your knee. Or, if we need to numb the bottom half of your body, we can use regional anesthesia, which is injected between two of your spine’s lumbar vertebrae. 

If we determine you need to be sedated, we use general anesthesia, where you’ll be unconscious throughout the procedure.

After your arthroscopy procedure

The beauty of arthroscopic surgery is that it doesn’t take long. Your procedure may last about an hour. Then we observe and monitor you for a few hours before we release you to go home. 

You leave our premises with specific after-care instructions that might include:

If you experience continued pain, drainage from your incision, redness, or a fever, you should call us. 

Your recovery time should be fairly swift, meaning you can get back to your desk job the next day and even resume light activity within a few days.

Don’t stay in pain if you have joint damage. We can give you an accurate diagnosis with arthroscopy and possibly repair it with the same procedure. Call us today or book a consultation online at one of our offices in Metairie, Chalmette, or Covington, Louisiana.

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