Arthroscopic Surgery for Pain and Arthritis.

• Position: Brief Article

Arthroscopy, a minimally invasive surgical technique widely used for treating knee injuries, is being applied in new ways by podiatric surgeons to relieve a variety of nagging ankle problems, including ligament damage, bone chips, and recurrent pain from end-stage arthritis.

"Previously, it would be necessary to cut bone open to remove diseased joints in ankle fusion procedures to relieve arthritis pain," explains John J. Stienstra, a podiatric surgeon with the Permanente Medical Group, Union City, Calif. "But arthroscopic techniques reduce biologic and financial costs by sparing the patient from surgical injury, anesthesia, hospitalization, and lengthy recovery and rehab time."

For many with end-stage arthritis, fusion surgery is the last resort to relieve persistent and debilitating pain in the ankle joint. "With arthroscopy, the success of ankle-fusion surgery is significantly improved compared to traditional surgery. Now, it takes far less time to achieve fusion with improved cosmetic effect, and the percentage of favorable and pain-free outcomes is much better."

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