Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

What Is Knee Arthroscopy?

Knee arthroscopy — or arthroscopic knee surgery — is a minimally invasive procedure used to treat conditions and injuries in the knee joint, like ACL and MCL tears, knee dislocations, impingement syndromes, and severe knee tendonitis. The procedure involves inserting a very small camera (an arthroscope) into the knee joint to examine and treat the affected area. Half-inch incisions are made and the knee surgeon repairs damaged or torn tissues and bone in your knee. The goal of arthroscopic surgery is to provide patients with hyper-accurate treatment and faster recovery times, allowing them to more quickly return to sports, work, and life. 

Arthroscopic Knee Surgery at Atlantic Orthopaedics

We are proud to offer minimally invasive knee arthroscopy to athletes, weekend warriors, and patients from all walks of life. Whether you’ve suffered from an acute sports injury, like tearing or rupturing ligaments in your knee, overuse injury from repetitive motion trauma or you’re managing chronic pain related to cartilage damage in the knee or other knee conditions, we can help. Our Sports Medicine providers, Arthroscopic Knee Surgeons, and health partners at ProCare Physical Therapy will work with you to diagnose and treat your knee pain and to help you efficiently and fully recover from surgery.

Benefits of Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

Patients who undergo arthroscopic knee surgery tend to benefit from faster recovery times and reduced joint stiffness, pain, and scarring than those who undergo more traditional invasive knee surgery. 

Candidates for Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

Arthroscopic knee surgery is commonly used to treat athletes who have experienced sports injuries related to traumatic accidents (like ACL tears) or repetitive motion trauma (like runner’s knee), but the service is also available to any individual who fits the surgical criteria. If you have not found relief through non-operative treatments like rest, anti-inflammatories, or injections, you may be a candidate for this minimally invasive procedure. Your doctor will discuss the unique nature of your pain and will order imaging (like MRI or CT Scans) before surgery of any kind is recommended. Assessing the severity of your condition or injury is critical to outline the most effective, affordable, and least invasive treatment plan possible.

Recovery Time After Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

Arthroscopic surgery is designed to be an outpatient procedure. Our patients usually leave the hospital hours after their knee surgery and should expect incisions to heal within 3-5 days. Athletes in specific can expect to return to some level of activity in a few weeks and may even return to practice or gameplay in as few as 6 weeks depending on their sport and rehab program. All patients can typically expect to return to work, school, or daily life activities within a week, and full recovery is usually realized in one (1) to two (2) months. In all cases, we will typically refer you to post-op Physical Therapy, where you will regain strength, retrain muscle groups, and restore functional joint movement to reduce the risk of reinjury.

Arthroscopic Surgery Consultations

Please contact or call our offices at 603-431-1121 (Portsmouth, NH) or 207-363-3490 (York, ME). Our providers will discuss your pain and your goals to determine if arthroscopic knee surgery is right for you or if another treatment plan is more appropriate.