Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure used to treat shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee and ankle injuries safely in all age groups, e.g. elderly, sportsmen, etc, without incurring much downtime.
Unlike arthroscopy where only 2 small incisions are made (one each for the arthroscope and surgical instruments), open orthopaedic surgery involves major incisions to expose the joints, subjecting the patient to a greater chance of infection. A prolonged period of rehabilitation is also needed to recover from the surgical trauma.
With arthroscopy of the joint, technology allows for the excellent visualisation and repair of the interior of the joint through a small incision with minimal trauma to the surrounding soft tissue.
A variety of spinal procedures such as interbody fusion, discectomy, vertebral reconstruction and excision of spinal and paraspinal tumours can be performed with minimally invasive surgery.
The advantages of minimally invasive techniques in spine surgery include smaller incisions with less trauma to surrounding tissues and muscles, with quicker healing, shorter hospital stay and faster return to daily activities.
4 small incisions from minimally invasive spine surgery versus open wound.
The operating microscope gives better illumination and precision in minimally invasive spine surgery.
