New and Coming Strategies: Arthroscopic Surgery Dissecting Apparatus

Joint pain can be difficult to diagnose precisely, relieve, and completely take away. In some cases, orthopedic surgeons will have no choice but to carry out open surgery, which is not only invasive, but which can be dangerous. Arthroscopy is a good alternative to open surgery, and with more innovations in research and technology, doctors may soon be able to use an all-in-one arthroscopic surgery dissecting apparatus that can make surgery simpler, more versatile, and easier for the patient to recover from.

In general, arthroscopy is a method of joint surgery that has been used to repair cartilage and tendons. It is favored by most sports doctors and athletes, as it is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that requires little time to perform. Arthroscopic surgery, moreover, can cut the time between diagnosis and disease treatment, because treatment of joint pain can be carried out immediately as soon as the cause of the pain is identified. Arthroscopic surgery, therefore, is both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool.

How is Arthroscopic Surgery Done?

If you are having joint pains that are difficult to relieve with medications or physical therapy, then your doctor may have recommended that you undergo surgery. In arthroscopic surgery, your doctor will make two main incisions near the affected joint area while you are under mild sedation and anesthesia. Into one small incision, he or she will insert specially designed arthroscopic surgery tools which will clear the joint area of fluids or blood, take away any problematic areas of cartilage or tendons, and make sutures to repair troubled tissues.

Into the other incision, he or she will insert an arthroscope. The arthroscope is an endoscope, which has a lens system, camera, and light source. This endoscope is attached to a television monitor, which your orthopedist will look at in order to guide himself or herself through the procedure. Because the monitor presents a larger view of your joint area, your orthopedist can make more precise movements without damaging unaffected areas of the joint. Newer models of arthroscopes can allow them to broadcast the feed to a camera system that can also be hooked up to the Internet.

Because the operating area of arthroscopic surgery can be very small, the tools used in arthroscopic surgery are small and lightweight as well. They need special training to be handled correctly, and orthopedic surgeons and arthroscopic surgeons need especially steady hands in order to not only do the surgery, but guide the camera so that it broadcasts the best working angle of the operation.

Can there be an All-in-One Tool?

Because of the delicate nature of arthroscopic surgery, it can be difficult for surgeons to push in and pull out tool after tool in order to carry out the procedure. There are, however, arthroscopic surgery dissecting apparatuses that have been designed, and with patents already in place. One such dissecting tool is driven by a rotary motor, and it contains all the tools necessary for carrying out an arthroscopic surgery procedure. It has a dissecting arm, which contains a tip meant for cutting; this dissecting arm can pry apart muscle or connective tissues, and, if used correctly, can cut through tissues and remove problematic portions of connective tissues that may be contributing to joint pain.

In general, an arthroscopic dissecting apparatus should be able to cut away tissues within joints; such an apparatus should therefore contain small and lightweight tools, and these tools should have precisely designed edges so that adjacent unaffected structures will not be injured unintentionally by the doctor. In this case, the apparatus also has two cutting arms that can work in concert, and, in the hands of a good surgeon, can be used to make even more precise incisions at the area of injury.

Current models of such a dissecting apparatus can still be improved on. For instance, medical engineers are proposing smaller apparatuses with digital displays and remote control. This can allow doctors from all over the world to perform arthroscopic surgery from afar, and with the same precision and safety precautions as they would have had they been in the same room as the patient.

What is in the Future for Arthroscopic Surgery?

More research is underway to create better arthroscopic surgery equipment that can better serve the needs of both doctors and patients. For instance, medical technologists want to create better videography systems that can allow the arthroscopic surgery footage to be broadcast to many monitors simultaneously, and even over the Internet. Such footage would have to be high resolution, with true colors, so that surgeons can better differentiate amongst the various tissues they have to deal with.

In the future, today’s arthroscopic surgery dissecting apparatus may be obsolete. Future apparatuses can be outfitted with more robotic arms, more precise blades, and more innovations in surgical tools. With better tools and more research, we may soon see better operations and quicker recovery for patients who have undergone arthroscopic surgery.