Elbow Arthroscopic Surgery
Elbow joint comprising of three bones and a network of cartilage and tendons facilitates easy bending, straightening and rotating of the forearm. When it sustains an injury or is affected by any debilitating condition its flexibility and mobility gets impaired making it difficult to perform daily activities.
When non surgical treatments fail to provide relief to the elbow, a minimally invasive surgery known as Arthroscopy is performed by the elbow surgeon to bring back lost strength and mobility to the elbow.
A combination of two Greek words, Arthroscopy refers to ‘looking inside the joint’. As the name signifies, it enables the surgeon to look inside the joint with the help of a camera, diagnose the problem that is affecting it and then repairing the damaged tissues with the help of surgical instruments. In simple terms, it is one of the best treatment techniques for elbow surgeons to inspect, diagnose and treat any enervating condition of the joints.
Arthroscopy produces excellent outcomes as improvement in technology is making it better with time.
Pre-Surgery:
Once the decision of the surgery has been reached upon, a few medical tests are run on the patient to determine that the patient is medically fit to undergo the surgery. The elbow surgeon has an in depth discussion with the patient regarding his medication history, any allergies or reaction to anesthesia and thereafter instructs the patient which enable him to be aptly prepared before the surgery.
Performing the surgery:
After adequate anesthesia, small incisions (5-7 mm) are made in the elbow joint to place a scope (camera) to assess the damage inside the joint. Few other smaller incisions are made to place special instruments by which the surgery is performed. The entire procedure takes not more than 30-90 minutes as an outpatient surgery.
Post-Surgery:
After the procedure, the elbow surgeon either puts a soft dressing to allow minimal movement or places a plaster splint on the elbow to restrict movement of the joint. The surgeon keeps a close watch over the patient for the day and then with a scheduled follow up visit, some general instructions regarding the medications and prohibited activities and physiotherapy, the patient is released from the hospital.
Rehabilitation:
To bring back flexibility in the stiff elbow, a post surgery rehabilitation program is implemented which comprises of gentle therapy exercises that stretch the muscles of the elbow joint to bring back mobility and strength. Under the guidance of a skilled physiotherapist the patient is strictly advised to follow the rehabilitation protocols as they are an essential part of recovery.
Complications:
One of the most tentative complications that can arise in arthroscopic surgery is an injury to the surrounding nerves while repairing the damage. Other complications may be an infection in the incisions and damage to the joint cartilage during the surgery, by the instruments.
Recovery:
Though recovery time varies from case to case and upon how adequately the patient takes care of himself it is almost certain that the patient regains flexibility after a few weeks. Driving is usually permissible after two weeks of surgery and the patient can safely resume mild work or activities including light sports after 3-5 weeks and heavy work after 10-12 weeks.
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Benefits:
Elbow Arthroscopy being known as keyhole surgery is performed by making such small cuts that it leaves almost no visible scars. The surgery being an outpatient surgery facilitates the patient in being released from the hospital without an overnight stay. It is less painful as compared to an open surgery and observes mild complications. The healing is much faster without scaring or making the patient undergo the trauma of a lengthy surgery.
More about the elbow doctor:
Elbow surgeon Dr. Vikas Gupta is a recognized specialist in this field who is highly experienced in the management of both traumatic and degenerative conditions that debilitate the elbow and using an effective combination of conservative and minimally invasive techniques relieves his patients of problems affecting their elbow joint.
Dr. Gupta completed his MBBS and MS in Orthopedics from All India Institute of Medical Sciences and then went to Germany and USA to learn the finer intricacies of surgery and upper extremity. He has been in the field for more than 25 years now and has skillfully performed over 6000 surgeries.
Diligently having served patients from AIIMS, Fortis, The Medanta- Medicity and at present from Max Healthcare as head of shoulder and hand division, Dr. Gupta has been acclaimed with various prestigious awards for his contribution to introducing international techniques to India and performing them successfully.
Max Healthcare, the best hospital in Delhi-NCR with provision of cutting edge technology that leads patients to shortest and rejuvenated route to recovery assisted by the most proficient and ingenious team of professionals has provided Dr. Gupta an easy base for delivering his skilled techniques to the patients all around the globe.