Arthroscopy is a surgical procedure orthopedic surgeons use to visualize, diagnose and treat problems inside a joint.

The word arthroscopy comes from two Greek words, "arthro" (joint) and "skopein" (look), and literally means "to look within the joint."

In an arthroscopic examination, an orthopedic surgeon makes a small incision in the patient's skin and then inserts pencil-sized instruments that contain a small lens and lighting system to magnify and illuminate the structures inside the joint. Light is transmitted through fiber optics to the end of the arthroscope that is inserted into the joint. By attaching the arthroscope to a miniature television camera, the surgeon is able to see the interior of the joint through this very small incision.

The camera attached to the arthroscope displays the image of the joint on a television screen, allowing the surgeon to look, for example, throughout the knee -- at cartilage and ligaments, and under the kneecap. The surgeon can determine the amount or type of injury, and then repair or correct the problem, if necessary.

Many procedures that formerly necessitated opening up the knee can now be done with arthroscopic surgery. Such procedures include removing damaged cartilage, repairing torn cartilage and ligaments, and shaving or drilling the surface of the kneecap.

Arthroscopy dates from 1918 when the first successful procedure was performed on the human knee. But the procedure didn't take off until the early 1970s. Even then, it was used only for diagnosing problems in certain joints. But during the 1980s, advanced biomedical engineering improved the technology enough for the technique to be used for joint surgery. This spurred the development of many new instruments and techniques, including suction punches, graspers, cutting tools, and power tools such as the shaver and bur.

Biomedical engineering innovations of the 1980s opened up arthroscopic applications to joints other than the knee, and made arthroscopic surgery the routine procedure it is today, one that is minimally invasive, causes less pain and has greater accuracy and fewer complications than other types of surgery. Magnetic resonance imaging is now being used more and more for the diagnosis of joint injuries while arthroscopy is being used primarily to guide surgery and repair of joints.

Arthroscopic surgery has virtually replaced arthrotomy, a crude and invasive method of evaluating a joint with exploratory surgery. Before the advent of arthroscopy, surgery on the meniscus involved a many-centimeter-long incision along the side of the knee, with a recovery period that could last months. In normal arthroscopic operations, the incisions are so small, usually no more than a quarter of an inch, that they typically require only one stitch, if any. This helps patients recover from minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery much quicker than open orthopedic surgery. For professional athletes, this means a much faster return to the playing field. For weekend warriors and people who sustain other joint injuries, arthroscopic surgery means getting back on your feet much sooner.

Now, more than 1.5 million arthroscopic procedures are performed every year. New endoscopes have digital capabilities for manipulating and enhancing images. In some new procedures, cartilage can be harvested and grown for reimplantation later.