Consider your knee as a knuckle joint, where the upper thigh bone and lower shin bone are joined together with rope-like structures – the knee ligaments. These ligaments are the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) and MCL (medial collateral ligament).

A fibrocartilaginous tissue – the meniscus between the bones – is what helps the ACL and PCL move the bones freely. It is a disc shaped pad and hence acts as a shock absorber for the knees. When these ligaments or cartilage are injured, you will get knee injuries that will result in your mobility loss and affect your life’s quality in a severe way.

Knee injuries can happen to anyone or any age group at any time. The most common causes of knee injuries are serious accidents where the knee gets hit, falling from a height, landing on the knee or intense sport activities. However, there are remedies available for these types of injuries.

Arthroscopic knee surgery is the most popular treatment to correct knee injuries. It is minimally invasive in nature and surgeons assess the inside of the joints to evaluate the severity and perform the surgery with the help of the visuals. It is commonly used for ACL, PCL and meniscus injuries.

Dr. Bharani Kumar Dayanandam, at Chennai Orthopaedics, who is a prominent and well-experienced Orthopaedic Surgeon and Trauma Consultant for over 21 years, provides arthroscopic knee surgery, along with other speciality treatments with precision and quality to cure knee problems.

What is Arthroscopic Knee Surgery?

As mentioned earlier, knee injuries can occur due to many reasons, and the ACL or PCL (the knee ligaments) or the meniscus might get affected big time.

Arthroscopy is a technique used by orthopaedic surgeons to examine and treat injuries or defects inside the joints of an individual with the help of a camera – the arthroscope.

Knee arthroscopy is the same method but used only for assessing the knee joints.

In this minimally invasive procedure, the surgeon makes small cuts and inserts a camera to look into the area, which will be visible on a big screen set in the room. Then they fix the issues as required by the condition without damaging any surrounding tissues.

Knee arthroscopy is usually done on patients if they are over 35 years of age, where natural healing might be delayed with traditional operative procedures. But it is also very common in young athletes aged between 18 & 35 who keep getting ACL and PCL tears very frequently.

The best part of knee arthroscopy is that the affected area doesn’t go under the knife like the traditional surgical methods and hence you will experience only minimal pain and scarring, unlike in open surgery.

Types of Knee Injuries Treated with Arthroscopy

ACL Tears & Reconstruction

ACL or the most stable ligament, is the rope-like structure starting from the thigh bone till the lower shin bone. When this gets torn, it causes knee instability. Injuries can be from sports activities like netball, football, soccer, basketball, or more, where pivoting, jumping, etc., is involved. The person will face knee instability and will keep having continuous knee pain

The anterior cruciate ligament or ACL, is not a single cord but a combination of bundles of single fibers, and hence a bit complicated in structure. It used to be open surgical procedures followed by doctors for reconstructions earlier. But every surgeon has their own way to do an ACL reconstruction on patients with the advanced medical innovations. Dr Bharani Kumar Dayanandam uses an intra-articular procedure through arthroscopy where a proper evaluation of the patient’s condition is done and then proceeds.

PCL Tears & Reconstruction

The same goes with the posterior cruciate ligament or PCL, which is located at the back of the knee. When the PCL gets injured, you won’t be able to move the knee to the back. The injuries in PCL can happen commonly during accidents with a direct shock involved or a sudden twist or overextension of the knee with a hit.

The PCL injuries appear in three forms. In grade 1, where the damage is mild; in grade 2, the ligament will be partially torn; and with a grade 3 injury, complete damage occurs in the ligament, where it might be cut into two halves causing severe pain and instability.

Meniscus Tears

The meniscus is commonly known as the shock absorber and allows easy rotation of the knee joints. It has no blood supply and any injury caused on it will not be able to heal normally. When the ACL injury occurs, it might create a great force on the meniscus, which increases meniscus tears as well. In such cases the knee arthroscopy can be used to perform both ACL and meniscus reconstruction.

MCL & LCL Surgery

There is also a medial collateral ligament (MCL) and lateral collateral ligament (LCL) that support the sides of the knee. They are situated on the interior of the knee that connects the topmost part of the shinbone (tibia) to the lower part of the thighbone (femur).

When this gets damaged or gets multiple tears, doctors use a minimally invasive procedure or an open surgery for reconstruction of the same. The injuries for MCL can also be in three forms – grade, 1,2,and 3 depending on the severity. This is comparatively a more complex procedure and is provided by Dr. Bharani Kumar.

Benefits of Knee Arthroscopy

The major benefits of knee arthroscopy are that there will be only a small number of incisions involved and the recovery time is faster than with open surgery. Also there will be minimal risk of infections. You don’t have to stay in the hospital for long, like with open surgery.

The Knee Arthroscopic Procedure

The knee arthroscopic procedure is done in steps. Before starting any kind of surgery, a proper assessment is very important. Knee surgeries also follow the same rules. Your doctor will be able to assess what your actual problem is and only when he suggests a surgery is needed, it is performed.

The surgery can be done in hospital, where you will be given local anaesthesia to numb the area.
A regional or general anaesthesia, will be given additionally to make your whole lower waist area also numb. And then you will be put to sleep.
After cleaning the area, the surgeon makes a small incision in your knee and the metal arthroscope is inserted into the incision.
The doctor will be able to see images inside the joints, which helps him identify the damage type and severity.
Then repairs are made on the torn ligaments or meniscus, and the damaged bone is also shaved off if necessary.
Once the procedure is done, the incisions are closed by stitching them and covering them up with small bandages. The knees will be finally wrapped with larger dressing as well.
You will be under proper monitoring once the procedure is done. Let us look into more details of postoperative care of the surgery.

Recovery & Rehabilitation After Knee Arthroscopy

The first and foremost step in recovery after knee arthroscopic surgery is managing pain. The patient will be given medications for pain management and the doctor might recommend using ice applications to bring down the swelling. The wounds, even though small, would need to be covered as long as the doctor advises.

After about 2 weeks, the bandages would be removed. Immobilisation may be suggested for the initial days. Immobilisers will be provided to help with the same for a month.

The patient will be advised not to put on weight on the treated knee and hence crutches would be recommended. They would need to keep the leg elevated to relieve pain and swelling.

Once the healing time is over, the patient would need physical therapy that will be customised for the specific condition the patient has gone through. The PT helps regain strength and mobility, as it will have special exercises meant for the same.

Risks & Complications of Knee Arthroscopy

It is very uncommon to get any side effects after a knee arthroscopy is done. However, some people might get some complications after the surgery.

The risks might range from bleeding to infection.

Blood clots
Stiffness in the knee
Blood pooling in the knee causes severe swelling (extremely rare).
Nerve damage
Infection at the area of incision.

It is always better to be safe than to be sorry; hence, you must follow instructions on aftercare very strictly to avoid any complications.

Cost of Knee Arthroscopy Surgery in Chennai

The ACL, PCL, or MCL surgery cost in Chennai, depends on a wide range of factors, like the hospital where it is done, its location, the type of procedure, the surgeon’s experience in the same, if it has got an insurance cover, etc.

The ideal knee arthroscopy cost in Chennai ranges from ₹1,20,000 to ₹2,80,000. However, the expense depends on the above-said factors and can vary substantially. At Chennai Orthopaedics, the price options are kept flexible, affordable and transparent for patients to get the best procedure under high-quality guidance.

The costs are customised based on your problem and what you need. For this you must first book a personal consultation and then have an idea on the charges.

Why Choose Dr. Bharani Kumar Dayanandam for Knee Arthroscopy Surgery in Chennai?

At Chennai Orthopaedics, Dr. Bharani Kumar brings with him over 26 years of experience as an orthopaedic surgeon and a trauma consultant. He specialises in arthroscopic knee surgery, joint arthroplasty, osteotomy, rotator cuff repair, shoulder stabilisation, arthroscopic shoulder decompression and much more.

Apart from being an MBBS graduate at Dr MGR Medical University, India, Dr. Bharani Kumar has also achieved AFRCSI from the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland and Diploma in Orthopaedic Engineering from the University of Wales. He also got an FRCS in Trauma & Orthopaedics in 2010.

If you have any kind of joint pain, shoulder pain, or mobility issues it is the best decision to visit Dr. Bharani Kumar Dayanandam and get yourself the quality treatment from the best hands.

Patient Testimonials – Success Stories

From doctors website

Big Thanks To Dr Bharani Sir

Thank you Dr. Bharani Sir.. for your excellent work while performing surgery on my mother Minakshi Chatterjee from WB for her fracture of Hip joint. To your skilled hands, my mother’s symptom is very insignificant and my mother’s unbearable difficulty was much less after resolving it. Thank you again Sir for this outstanding work which you have done. My mother is feeling much better now. I’m eternally thankful that there were not any complications during the surgery. The word thank you is very insignificant to this great work of yours. GOD Bless You Sir..

Knee replacement surgery

Dear Dr.Bharani Kumar Dayanandam, I want to express my heartfelt thanks on behalf of my whole family. My Mother G.Vasanthi was going through immense pain and suffering due to her knee problem. The elegant way in which you have guided us and performed the knee replacement surgery has helped her greatly. The ease with which you have handled all her doubts and made her feel very comfortable during the whole process has greatly helped her to face the surgery with confidence and recuperate very soon. My mother has greatly improved in her health within a month from the surgery and is able to perform her day to day activities with great ease now. The surgery has not only changed her life but the whole family’s everyday life has improved immensely. We cannot thank you enough for the excellent care and exceptional professional services that you have provided.

FAQs

How long does ACL surgery recovery take?

The recovery usually takes about 6-7 months before you can start your normal activities or sports. But aftercare and physical exercises need to be followed as prescribed by the doctor.

What happens during knee arthroscopic surgery?

The doctor makes small cuts in the target area and inserts a camera to get a view of the damage while using small tools to perform surgery and repair.

Is knee arthroscopy effective for meniscus tears?

Of course, knee arthroscopy can be used to repair or remove damaged meniscus tissues along with ACL reconstruction too.

What are the risks of ACL surgery?

While the risks are very rare, like any surgical procedure, when cuts are made, there could be some risks involved only in some people. They include bleeding, clotting, infections, etc.

How much is the cost of ACL surgery in Chennai?

The cost of ACL surgery in Chennai depends on various factors like the hospital where it’s done, the surgeon’s expertise, the type of procedure, etc. Hence, it is always recommended to consult with the hospital that you are meeting your doctor at.