Arthroscopy how long to recover

Arthroscopic surgery is outpatient same day surgery with local or regional anesthetic. An uncomplicated meniscectomy will resolve most of the pain fairly quickly, but swelling and stiffness take time to resolve. It may take months for full healing. The patient should be able to bear weight on the knee while standing or walking, immediately after surgery. Crutches will be necessary for days after surgery. Rehabilitation to gain full ROM should occur within weeks.

Heavy work or sports may be restricted for the first weeks. Followed by 2 weeks of limited motion before resuming daily activities. Physical therapy starts right after surgery. The patient should be able to bear weight on the knee while standing or walking, immediately after surgery with a brace. The patient is expected to walk with crutches for weeks after surgery.

Rehabilitation is intended to control pan and swelling, achieve maximum range of motion and full load walking. Patients with a low impact job can return to work weeks after surgery, drive after weeks, and return to heavy work or sports months after surgery. Articular cartilage is the cartilage at the end of the bones.

Damage can occur from trauma or normal wear and tear. Arthroscopy is used to remove loose pieces of cartilage. A microfracture procedure makes tiny holes in the bone marrow of the damaged cartilage to generate new cartilage. Your surgeon or care team will advise you how long it's likely to take to fully recover and what activities you should avoid until you're feeling better. You'll probably need at least two weeks off work, although this varies from person to person — some need more, while others need less.

This will largely depend on whether your job involves strenuous activity that could damage the joint. For a desk job without the need to walk long distances, two weeks is a realistic amount of time.

A job involving more strenuous work for example a car mechanic may require anything between four and twelve weeks to recover enough to allow normal activities. You'll be able to drive again once you're able to do so without experiencing any pain and you can safely perform an emergency stop.

This may not be for a few weeks or several months after surgery. They can advise you on how long it will be before you can undertake strenuous physical activities, such as heavy lifting and sport. For many people, this will be around six weeks after surgery, but in some cases it may not be for several months.

These problems could be a sign of a complication of surgery, such as an infection or nerve damage. Signs, symptoms and function to be expected following surgery: Pain is quite common, most often in the area where you had pain before surgery, in the soft tissues below the knee cap, over the athroscopy wounds and occasionally the whole knee. It is performed under an anaesthetic and involves inserting a small camera and instruments into the knee to perform surgery inside the joint.

There are many operations that can be performed with a knee arthroscopy. Tears of the cartilage can be removed or repaired, roughened areas of the joint surface can be smoothed and ligaments can be reconstructed. If you have any of these problems, you might be suitable for arthroscopic surgery. An arthroscopy is performed under a general or spinal anaesthetic. A small telescope is inserted into the knee to provide a view of the inside of the joint.

Various instruments are passed through the other portal to perform the surgery. An arthroscopy takes about 20 minutes to perform. It is important for a person taking any prescription or over-the-counter OTC medications to discuss them with the doctor.

An individual may need to stop taking some medications ahead of the surgery. This may even include common OTC medications, such as ibuprofen Advil. A person may need to stop eating up to 12 hours before the procedure, especially if they will be general anesthesia.

A doctor should provide plenty of information about what a person is allowed to eat or drink. Some doctors prescribe pain medication in advance. A person should fill this prescription before the surgery so that they will be prepared for recovery.

A doctor may inject a local anesthetic to numb the affected knee only. If both knees are affected, the doctor may use a regional anesthetic to numb the person from the waist down.

In some cases, doctors will use a general anesthetic. In this case, the person will be completely asleep during the procedure. If the person is awake, they may be allowed to watch the procedure on a monitor. This is entirely optional, and some people may not be comfortable viewing this. The procedure starts with a few small cuts in the knee. Surgeons use a pump to push saline solution into the area. This will expand the knee, making it easier for the doctors to see their work.

After the knee is expanded, the surgeons insert the arthroscope. The attached camera allows the surgeons to explore the area and identify any problems.