|
Shoulder Arthroscopy
 The shoulder joint is prone to injury since it is very mobile. Frequent overhead movements and sudden trauma can damage the tissues inside the shoulder. This can cause pain, tenderness, weakness, instability, and limitation of movement in the shoulder joint.
Although symptoms, physical examination, and different types of X-rays can tell us about the nature of the problem, we often need to use shoulder arthroscopy to determine what is wrong. The types of disorders that can be diagnosed with arthroscopy include tears, swelling, abnormal formations, detachments, loose fragments (loose bodies), and arthritis. THE OPERATION: Arthroscopy is keyhole surgery, two or three 5mm puncture wounds are only required, avoiding large wounds and scars. Most shoulder operations can now be done by arthroscopy, rather than open surgery. Arthroscopic surgery has advantages over open surgery, since smaller incisions are made and there is less dissection to surrounding structures: - Recovery is usually quicker with arthroscopic surgery
- Post-operative pain is usually less.
- The operations can be done as a Day case
- There may be less postoperative complications.
The shoulder joint is examined using a tiny telescope with television camera introduced through a small 'key hole'. This telescope and camera is known as the Arthroscope. This allows the surgeon to see the area they are working on, on a TV screen. Through other small incisions, the surgeon can insert special instruments.
| 
