Arthroscopic surgery is a procedure used to identify, monitor, and diagnose joint injuries and disease, to remove bone or cartilage, or repair tendons or ligaments. Diagnostic arthroscopic surgery is performed when medical history, physical exam, x rays, and other tests such as MRIs or CTs do not provide a definitive diagnosis.

In arthroscopic surgery, an orthopedic surgeon uses an arthroscope (a fiber-optic instrument) to see the inside a joint. After making an incision about the size of a buttonhole in the patient's skin, a sterile sodium chloride solution is injected to distend the joint. The arthroscope, an instrument the size of a pencil, is then inserted into the joint.

The arthroscope has a lens and a lighting system through which the structures inside the joint are transmitted to a miniature television camera attached to the end of the arthroscope. The surgeon uses irrigation and suction to...