The Benefits Of Arthroscopic Surgery In Treating Joint Disease
If you are facing joint surgery, your surgeon may either recommend traditional open surgery or arthroscopic surgery. The latter procedure is less invasive, and while arthroscopic surgery has a number of benefits, your surgeon will need to base your surgical treatment options on your medical condition, level of injury, and general state of health. Here are some benefits of an arthroscopic procedure to consider if you require surgical intervention to treat your joint disease.
Less Pain
When your doctor performs your joint surgery arthroscopically instead of performing the traditional, or open type, surgery, you will experience less pain. During traditional surgery, your physician needs to cut through various structures such as tendons and muscle tissue to access your joint.
Conversely, during a minimally invasive arthroscopic procedure, these structures are not incised, and therefore, less pain is involved. Furthermore, instead of a larger incision that is required for open surgery, arthroscopic surgery requires only a few small, or "keyhole" incisions.
While you may experience superficial tissue pain or irritation at the surgical sites, you will not experience any deep or visceral pain that is common with open surgical procedures. The small arthroscopic incisions are made so that the arthroscope and camera can be inserted into the surgical incision so that the problematic area can be observed and treated by the physician. Once the procedure has been completed, your doctor will close your incisions with a few stitches, or sutures.
Lower Infection Risk
Because the incisions made during arthroscopic surgery are very small, there is less risk for infection. While there is still a very small risk for infection for any surgical procedure, surgeries performed arthroscopically have smaller risks in comparison to open surgeries. This is an important benefit, especially for those who have certain illnesses or who take certain medications that compromise the immune system.
A surgical infection can be severe and life-threatening for immunocompromised patients. While the infection rate is low for minimally invasive joint surgery, tell your surgeon if you experience increased incisional redness, excessive drainage, pain, fever, or chills. These symptoms may indicate an infection and require prompt evaluation and treatment.
If you have degenerative joint disease, talk to your orthopedic surgeon about the benefits of a minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery. He or she will tell you that your recovery time will be much shorter than having traditional joint surgery. In addition, you will be less likely to need prescription pain medication following your procedure, which can lead to significant side effects.
If you are considering this type of procedure visit a specialist, like https://www.towncenterorthopaedics.com/, near you.
