Home / Treatments / Knee arthroscopy
Small incisions, a direct view of the joint, and one clear priority: preserving your knee.
Arthroscopy lets us see and treat the inside of the knee through two or three incisions of under a centimetre, using a high-definition camera and specialised instruments. Compared with open surgery it means less tissue damage, less post-operative pain and a faster recovery. It is the core tool of sports traumatology — and the technique I subspecialise in.
The meniscus is the knee's shock absorber: every fragment lost increases load on the cartilage and the future risk of osteoarthritis. That's why, whenever a tear is repairable, my first choice is to repair it. Trimming is sometimes unavoidable, but it should never be the default. When can a meniscus be repaired? →
Knee arthroscopy is usually a day-case or short-stay procedure, with anaesthesia tailored to each patient, at IMED Elche or IMED Alicante hospitals. Typical duration is 30 to 60 minutes depending on the procedure. You leave hospital walking with protected support and a written recovery plan.
Swelling control, early motion, and weight-bearing according to the procedure (immediate after meniscectomy; protected after repair).
Normal gait and basic strength after partial meniscectomy; healing protection after meniscus repair.
Progressive return to general activity; guided load and motion progression after repair.
Return to sport depending on the procedure and on strength and control criteria — earlier after meniscectomy, later after repair.
No. Many degenerative tears do well with conservative care. Surgery is for mechanical pain, locking or recurrent swelling, and for traumatic tears in younger patients — where the aim is repair.
If the tear allows it, repair: it preserves the shock absorber and protects cartilage long-term. Recovery is slower than trimming, but for young, active patients it's usually worth it. If not repairable, only the damaged fragment is removed.
As a guide: normal life within 2-4 weeks after partial meniscectomy; longer after repair (4-6 months for sport) to protect healing. Each case gets an individual plan.
Generally it is not the treatment for established osteoarthritis; options there range from conservative care and injections to surgery in advanced stages. Arthroscopy is for well-selected mechanical problems.
A timely examination tells apart what will settle with conservative care from what should be operated on early to save the meniscus.
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