Arthroscopy at Clínic

The arthroscopy unit has more than 10 specialists dedicated to arthroscopic surgery in combination with other units (hip, knee, foot). This speciality includes: sports pathology, ligament instabilities, conditions in young adults, and degenerative knee disorders.

In 2023, at Hospital Clínic, we performed more than 390 major outpatient arthroscopy surgeries. In addition, there were almost 1,670 first visits and 5,047 follow-up visits.

The treatment process begins with a visit to the Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology specialist. After an interview, physical examination and assessment of any additional tests, a diagnosis is made and a proposal for surgery, if necessary, is made.

If surgical treatment is recommended, it will be explained to the patient and they must agree and sign the informed consent form. Then, the relevant preoperative tests will be carried out and an appointment will be made with the anaesthesiologist and the rehabilitation service.

On the day of the operation, the patient must not eat anything before being admitted to the hospital at the Plató Centre. There they will be identified, safety checks will be carried out, and after having a venous access inserted, they will be taken to the pre-op room. There, depending on the procedure, a peripheral nerve block will be administered and then the patient will be taken to the operating theatre where a spinal or general anaesthetic will be administered (this process is explained to the patient during their pre-anaesthetic visit).

Practically all arthroscopic procedures are performed as Major Outpatient Surgery (MOS), so the patient is admitted on the same day as the operation and is discharged a few hours later.

Once the procedure has been completed, a bandage or immobilisation is applied and patients are transferred to the resuscitation room until it has been established that their limbs are awake, their pain is controlled and their vital signs are normal and stable.

They are then taken to a hospital ward and, if all is well, they are discharged home on the same day as the operation, or the following day if the surgery requires that.

As well as being discharged from hospital, analgesic medication, antithrombotic prophylaxis (in the case of operations on the lower limbs) will be prescribed, and a care appointment will be made for two weeks after the operation. A visit with the surgeon and rehabilitation will also be scheduled.

Subsequent check-ups will be carried out to assess the patient's evolution, pain and functional recovery, as well as the possibility of their return to physical activity.

Hospital Clínic is a benchmark in the field of arthroscopy in terms of care, research and teaching. Complex and innovative arthroscopic techniques have been performed in ligament reconstruction, cartilage preservation, meniscal and osteochondral transplants, the use of allografts in cuff reconstructions, arthroscopic tendon transpositions, and bone defects in instabilities. One of the latest treatments have been incorporated is fresh osteochondral transplantation for cartilage injuries in the knee.

One of the most important factors in the success of the treatments performed at Hospital Clínic is the multidisciplinary approach, which includes the orthopaedic surgery and traumatology, rehabilitation and anaesthesiology services, along with nursing to monitor patient care and physiotherapy in their functional recovery and return to physical activity.