Before we go explaining about arthroscopic tools, let’s go back to the basic. What is arthroscopy? The word arthroscopy comes from a Greek word arthro meaning joint, and skopien meaning to look. In order words, arthroscopy is like saying to look within the joints. This procedure started or popularized in the 1960’s and is now a common practice by orthopedic surgeons.

Arthroscopy is what we known as a surgical procedure wherein surgeons use to visualize, diagnose and treat problems inside a joint. By making a small incision in the patients skin and then insert a pencil sized instruments that contain a small lens and optical fibers to examine the joint.
This small fiber optic camera is what we call arthroscope and together with other arthroscopic tools they magnify and illuminate the inside of the joint. What is so cool with this procedure is that the camera contains an astounding bright light source to help visualize the joint structures. With the help of a monitor attached to the arthroscope surgeons can look throughout the knee which includes the cartilage and ligaments, and under the knee cap. It can even conclude the type and amount of injury as well as repair or correct the problem, if it is necessary.

In today’s orthopedic procedure surgeons all over the world uses arthroscopic tools to assist with numerous injury repairs and has continued to advance since the day it was invented. These tools helped the advancement of this study due to a numerous helpful benefits. Like the small probes used to maneuver under the cartilage to look for tears, some surgeons even use small scissors to trim out torn tissues. Other surgeons also utilize powered instrument to assist them in repairs like the most commonly used motorized tool called a shaver. This tool looks like a hollow tube with rotating teeth which is used to remove large amounts of damaged tissue and is connected to a suction device. Another in case of emergency arthroscopic tool is what we call the awl which is used to pick the bone in cases of premature arthritis changes to encourage new joint surface cartilage formation.

Arthroscopic surgery has received a lot of public attention because it’s not time consuming and usually done in an outpatient setting, all these because of the help of these arthroscopic tools. So browse all our informative pages as you learn more interesting articles about arthroscopic tools and other related topics.

Through magnifying and illuminating the inside of the joint surgeons can determine the damage of the bone and can then make some diagnosis.