Expert telescopic surgery
If it is not possible for the doctor to make a correct diagnosis after examining the elbow or shoulder and supplementing it with X-rays, ultrasound scans and possibly CT and MRI scans, a binocular examination may be performed. A binocular examination is also known as an arthroscopy. During a binocular examination of the elbow or shoulder, the doctor can often see what is wrong with the joint. It is often possible to repair the damage or clean the joint during the same procedure.
What can we examine and treat with keyhole surgery?
A shoulder arthroscopy is typically used when the patient has joint slips, tendon injuries (rotator cuff lesion) and entrapment syndrome in the shoulder. In the elbow, we often perform arthroscopic surgery for mouse elbow, pain and entrapment in the elbow joint and elbow osteoarthritis. For injuries to many of these structures, the surgeon can treat them in the same procedure with special instruments via one or more additional incisions. This can include, for example, cleaning out a joint capsule in case of shoulder stiffness, loosening the humeral tendon, polishing the lower edge of the shoulder socket and suturing ligaments. However, not all injuries can be treated via arthroscopy, so sometimes the surgeon will need to perform open surgery at a later date or possibly as an extension of the arthroscopic surgery.