Treatment
Knee arthroscopy is keyhole surgery inside the knee: a camera and fine instruments through two incisions the width of a pencil, the joint magnified on screen, the problem dealt with while everything around it stays undisturbed. It is superb at what it is for — things torn, loose or physically in the way. It is equally important to say what it is not for: keyhole surgery does not relieve the pain of a worn, arthritic knee, and no amount of demand changes that. This page covers both halves honestly.
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Two small incisions do all the work. Through one, an arthroscope — a camera about the thickness of a pen — lights the joint and projects it magnified onto a screen; through the other, instruments trim, stitch, remove or repair. Sterile fluid keeps the view clear and the space open. Because the joint is never opened, the muscles, ligaments and the kneecap’s mechanism are left alone — which is the whole reason most people walk out the same day rather than spending a week recovering from the access itself. The operation’s honesty test is what it is asked to do: mechanical problems, yes; worn-out cartilage, no.
Getting into the knee — how much has to be opened
Figures describe typical straightforward procedures — repairs run longer, and our specialist will give you the timeline for your own operation.
Most people arrive with one question louder than the rest. Tap yours — the straight answer is one scroll away.
That depends entirely on what is wrong — and the split is unusually clean. Mechanical problems: yes, often dramatically. A knee locked by a displaced meniscus fragment straightens again. A loose body that has been catching unpredictably stops catching the moment it is removed. A repairable meniscus, stitched, keeps cushioning the joint for decades. A fragment knocked off during a kneecap dislocation is fixed back or removed before it grinds the surfaces. Worn cartilage: no. Trimming and washing out an arthritic knee does not make it hurt less — large trials have shown this convincingly, and we won’t offer it as though the evidence said otherwise. The useful question at consultation is never “will keyhole surgery help?” in the abstract. It is “is there something in your knee that a keyhole can physically fix?” — and your examination and imaging answer that directly.
Knee arthroscopy is among the most commonly performed orthopaedic operations worldwide, and its safety record reflects that — but “low risk” is not “no risk,” and you deserve the whole list. The common and temporary: swelling, bruising and stiffness for a few weeks, and a knee that grumbles when you overdo it early. The uncommon: infection, bleeding into the joint, blood clots in the leg — which is why we get you moving quickly — and a numb patch of skin beside an incision where a tiny surface nerve branch was crossed, usually shrinking over months. The rare: injury to structures inside the joint, ongoing pain, or a repair that doesn’t heal as hoped. Set against those: the risk of leaving a locked knee locked, or a repairable meniscus untreated until it no longer can be. Both sides of that ledger get discussed before anything is booked.
The keyholes heal within days; what sets your timeline is what was done through them. After trimming or removing something, most people walk the same day, put the crutches away within a few days, drive within one to two weeks, and return to sport around six weeks. After a repair — stitched meniscus, fixed cartilage — the plan deliberately slows down: protected weight-bearing and limited bending for several weeks so the healing tissue isn’t pulled apart, with sport several months away. Wherever you are:
Come with scepticism — it’s the right attitude here. A consultation matches your symptoms to your imaging and answers one question: is there something a keyhole can physically fix? If the honest answer is no, you’ll hear that, along with what would actually help.
Two things prepare a knee well. Go in as strong as you can — even a fortnight of thigh strengthening pays back afterwards — and arrange the practical side: a lift home, a clear first few days, and someone around for the first evening. Everything else arrives as clear instructions well before the day.
Follow the plan for what was actually done inside. Trimming earns early freedom; a repair needs its restrictions respected to the letter — the stitches are holding tissue, not steel. Elevate, keep the quads working, and report fevers, calf pain or a knee that swells hot and fast.
Honestly, it can — and how likely depends on which operation you had. Removed tissue doesn’t regrow: a trimmed portion of meniscus is gone for good, so that exact tear cannot retear — but the remaining meniscus carries more load, which over years can accelerate wear. That is precisely why we trim as little as possible and repair whenever the tear allows. Repairs can fail to heal: a stitched meniscus knits in most cases, more reliably in younger patients and in tears near the blood-supplied outer rim; when one doesn’t heal, further surgery is occasionally needed. Loose bodies can reform where the cartilage surface they came from is still crumbling. And the underlying knee keeps living its life: arthritis progresses on its own schedule regardless of what a keyhole did. The way to keep a good result is unglamorous — strength, sensible loading and weight management — and it is part of the plan here, not an afterthought.
Most knees don’t — and this clinic says so freely, because arthroscopy performed for the wrong reason is a fortnight of your life spent on nothing. It earns its place in specific, provable situations. Check yours:
Your situation matches what arthroscopy is genuinely for. The next step is a consultation, not a consent form: confirming the finding on imaging, deciding between repairing and trimming, and setting out the recovery each would involve.
Good news — keyhole surgery probably isn’t your answer. Knee pain without locking, catching or a repairable tear does better with strengthening, load management and time. An assessment builds that plan properly — and keeps watch for the exceptions. More: physiotherapy & rehabilitation
And remember: the consultation’s job is the right answer for your knee — including “no operation.”
Tap the one that sounds like you — and get the straight answer:
Knee arthroscopy is keyhole surgery on the inside of the knee. Through two incisions each about the width of a pencil, a camera the thickness of a pen goes in one side and fine instruments through the other, letting our specialist see the joint magnified on screen and work within it. Nothing is opened up: the kneecap, ligaments and surrounding tissues stay undisturbed, which is why recovery is measured in days for straightforward procedures.
It excels at mechanical problems — things physically in the way or torn in a repairable pattern. That means meniscus tears that lock or catch, meniscus repairs in younger knees, loose fragments of cartilage or bone floating in the joint, damaged cartilage surfaces, fragments knocked off during a kneecap dislocation, and inflamed joint lining. ACL reconstruction is also performed arthroscopically. What it does not treat is pain from a worn, arthritic knee.
It depends on what was done inside. After trimming a torn meniscus or removing a loose body, most people walk the same day, manage desk work within one to two weeks, and return to sport around six weeks. After a meniscus repair the timeline is deliberately slower — restricted weight-bearing and limited bending for several weeks while the stitched tissue heals, with sport several months away. The keyholes heal quickly either way; what governs the timeline is the repair inside.
Low, but never zero. The common and temporary: swelling, bruising and stiffness settling over a few weeks. The uncommon: infection, bleeding into the joint, blood clots in the leg, and numbness in a small patch of skin near an incision where a tiny surface nerve branch was crossed. Rare: damage to structures within the joint, or persistent pain. Our specialist will discuss the numbers relevant to your knee and your procedure before anything is booked.
For arthritis pain itself, no — and this is one of the clearest findings in modern orthopaedics. Large trials show keyhole washouts and trimming provide no lasting benefit over exercise therapy for degenerative knees, which is why we do not offer it for that purpose. The exception is a genuinely mechanical problem in an arthritic knee: a fragment locking the joint still needs removing. The arthritis is treated on its own terms, separately.
Related: Meniscus tears · ACL tears · Kneecap dislocation · Knee osteoarthritis
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