The use of arthroscopic surgery for wrist injuries offers many benefits over ‘open’ surgery. Arthroscopic wrist surgery enables Mr Durrant to view the inside of the injured joint clearly without having to make a large incision through skin, muscle, and tendon fibres.
A very small camera is inserted into the wrist through a ½ cm incision in the skin, normally on the back and side of the wrist. A second small incision is made, through which small narrow instruments are inserted.
With arthroscopic surgery, the surgeon is able to
- remove any loose cartilage or soft tissue
- smooth any rough bony ‘spurs’ (bumps)
- repair any torn or damaged tendons or muscle tissue.
Through an arthroscopic camera Mr Durrant is able to see clearly all of the finer details of the joint and identify the quality of the bones, tendons and ligaments. He is able to get a complete view of the joint moving together and accurately identify any problem.
Wrist surgery is the third most common joint to be arthroscopically operated on, behind knee and shoulder surgery. The benefits of this type of surgery for the patient include minimal post operative pain, quicker recovery time, less chance of post operative complications, and very little scarring. Arthroscopic procedures are able to repair ligament tears, remove ganglion cysts, treat carpal tunnel syndrome, repair wrist fractures, and treat chronic wrist problems.