How Recovery Differs After Knee, Shoulder and Ankle Arthroscopy: Milestones by Joint

Two neighbors compare notes over a fence. One had a knee scope on a Tuesday and was walking the dog by Saturday. The other had a shoulder scope the same week and is still buttoning shirts one-handed, sling strap digging into her collarbone. Same word on the consent form, arthroscopy, and two completely different months ahead.

That gap confuses people, and it is where most recovery worries start. The camera and the keyhole incisions are nearly identical whether the surgeon is looking inside a knee, a shoulder or an ankle. What changes is the joint underneath: how much weight it carries, how well its tissues are supplied with blood, and whether the surgeon trimmed something away or stitched something back together.

This explainer walks through arthroscopy recovery by joint, milestone by milestone, so you can tell the difference between a normal slow Tuesday and a sign that needs a phone call.

What actually happens during an arthroscopy?

Arthroscopy is keyhole surgery on a joint: the surgeon makes two or three small cuts, slides in a pencil-thin camera called an arthroscope, and works with fine instruments through the other openings while watching a screen. Sterile fluid is pumped in to open the space and give a clear view, which is why joints feel puffy and tight for a few days afterward (NHS).

The procedure is used for two broad purposes. The first is to look and tidy: smoothing frayed cartilage, removing loose fragments of bone or cartilage, or trimming an inflamed joint lining. The second is to repair: stitching a torn meniscus (the C-shaped shock absorber in the knee), reattaching a rotator cuff tendon to the top of the arm bone, or anchoring a torn labrum (the rim of cartilage that deepens the shoulder socket). Trimming and repairing look alike from the outside. They heal on completely different clocks.

Most arthroscopies are day-case procedures, and people usually go home the same day once pain is controlled and they can move safely (NHS; Mayo Clinic). Anesthesia may be general, regional (numbing the whole limb) or a combination, and the choice influences how the first evening feels more than how the following months unfold.

Because the incisions are small, people often expect the inside to heal just as fast. The incisions do close within days. The tissue beneath them, whether cartilage, tendon or bone, follows its own biology, and that biology is what the rest of this article is really about.

Why does arthroscopy recovery by joint differ so much?

Three factors drive almost every difference in arthroscopy recovery by joint, and none of them is the size of the scar.

The first is load. The knee and ankle are weight-bearing joints; every step after surgery compresses the tissue that was just operated on. The shoulder carries no body weight, but it hangs from soft tissue and depends on tendons that must be protected from stretch while they knit to bone. So knee and ankle recovery is organized around when you may put weight through the leg, while shoulder recovery is organized around how far you may move the arm.

The second is blood supply. Cartilage has essentially none, which is why a smoothed cartilage surface does not regrow and why some cartilage procedures demand weeks of protection. The outer third of the meniscus has a modest blood supply and can heal when repaired; the inner portion cannot, so it is trimmed instead. Tendons and bone heal, but slowly: tendon-to-bone healing in a rotator cuff repair is measured in months, which is why MedlinePlus describes shoulder arthroscopy recovery as anywhere from 1 to 6 months depending on the work done.

The third is what was done. A loose-body removal in any joint tends to recover quickly. A repair in the same joint may be ten times longer. Mayo Clinic notes that many people return to desk work and light activity within a few days of arthroscopy, yet the same source is clear that strenuous activity may be several weeks or more away and depends on the specific procedure.

Hold those three variables in mind and the joint-by-joint milestones below stop looking arbitrary.

Knee arthroscopy recovery time: what the first two weeks usually look like

The knee is the most commonly scoped joint and the one most people have a neighbor’s story about. For the most frequent procedure, trimming a torn meniscus, the early course is usually brisk. People typically walk out of the surgical unit with crutches for balance rather than because they are forbidden to bear weight, and MedlinePlus notes that many can put full weight on the leg soon after a simple trim unless the surgeon says otherwise.

Swelling peaks over the first few days. The joint was filled with fluid during the procedure and the lining reacts to the instruments, so a warm, boggy knee that bends to about a right angle and no further is ordinary at day three. Elevating the leg above heart level, cooling the knee for short periods, and gentle ankle pumps to keep blood moving are the standard early instructions (NHS; MedlinePlus).

The small dressings usually come off within a few days, and the incisions are often closed with adhesive strips or a single stitch each. NHS guidance describes wounds healing within days, while full recovery takes weeks to months depending on the procedure.

By the end of week one, most people after a meniscal trim or loose-body removal are walking around the house without crutches and bending the knee more comfortably. Mayo Clinic puts driving at roughly 1 to 3 weeks after arthroscopy, provided the operated leg is not the one working the pedals or has recovered enough control to brake sharply. Stairs tend to lag a few days behind flat walking because they demand both bend and strength.

Two weeks is a common first follow-up. It is the point where the surgeon checks the incisions, confirms the knee is settling, and, crucially, confirms which pathway you are on.

Meniscus trim, meniscus repair or ACL reconstruction: why the knee pathway forks

Three knee procedures share the same incisions and produce wildly different calendars.

A partial meniscectomy removes the torn, non-healing part of the meniscus. Nothing needs to knit, so protection is minimal and the limiting factor is swelling. MedlinePlus describes recovery after minor knee arthroscopy as a matter of weeks for return to normal activity.

A meniscus repair stitches the tear together, usually when the tear sits in the better-supplied outer zone. Now something does need to heal, and the surgeon will often restrict how deeply the knee may bend under load for several weeks so the stitches are not sheared. People are sometimes surprised that a repair recovers more slowly than a trim; it does, and the trade-off is keeping more of the shock absorber for the long term. The exact restrictions are set by the operating surgeon based on where the stitches sit.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction replaces the torn ligament in the center of the knee with a graft of tendon. This is a different scale of recovery. MedlinePlus notes that return to sport after ACL reconstruction commonly takes months, not weeks, because the graft has to be incorporated into bone and the surrounding muscle has to be retrained before the knee can tolerate pivoting.

What this means practically: ask your surgeon, before the operation if possible, which of these three was planned and which was actually done. The plan can change once the camera is inside. A trim that turned into a repair is a good surgical decision, but it moves your return-to-sport estimate by months, and knowing that on day one saves weeks of mismatched expectations.

Shoulder arthroscopy recovery timeline: why the sling is doing real work

The shoulder is the joint that most confounds expectations, because almost nothing hurts about standing still and almost everything hurts about reaching. People go home feeling reasonably well and then discover they cannot lift a kettle for a month.

MedlinePlus describes the sling as standard for at least the first week after shoulder arthroscopy, and longer when a repair was performed. The sling is not a comfort accessory. After a rotator cuff repair, the reattached tendon is held to bone by anchors and sutures while the body slowly grows new tissue across the junction. A sudden reach or lifting the arm against gravity can stretch that junction before it is strong. The sling takes that choice away during the fragile weeks.

The first nights are frequently the hardest part of the shoulder timeline. Lying flat tends to pull on the front of the joint, so many people sleep propped up in a recliner or on pillows for the first stretch, a detail rarely mentioned at the consent appointment and worth planning for. Regional nerve blocks are often used for shoulder surgery and can leave the arm numb and heavy for many hours; the first night is often when the block wears off and pain arrives at once, so care teams usually advise having prescribed pain relief on hand before that happens, taken as directed by the prescriber.

Washing, dressing and typing become the real milestones. Zip-front tops, slip-on shoes and a plan for hair and hygiene make a bigger difference to the first fortnight than almost anything else. The hand and elbow can usually move freely from early on, which keeps the forearm from stiffening, while the shoulder itself waits.

Decompression, rotator cuff repair or labral repair: shoulder milestones compared

As with the knee, the procedure matters more than the joint.

Subacromial decompression shaves a small amount of bone or inflamed tissue above the rotator cuff to make room for the tendons. Nothing is stitched, so the sling is brief and movement is encouraged early. This sits at the quick end of the shoulder range.

Rotator cuff repair reattaches a torn tendon to the humeral head. The recovery is staged. First comes a protected phase in the sling, with only passive movement in which a therapist or the other arm moves the shoulder while its own muscles stay quiet. Then active movement is introduced without resistance, and only later is strengthening added. MedlinePlus frames the whole arc, from surgery to full recovery, as taking up to several months, with heavy lifting and overhead sport sitting at the far end.

Labral repair, including surgery for shoulder instability after dislocations, follows a similar staged logic but with different movement restrictions, often limiting external rotation (turning the arm outward) early on so the repaired rim is not stressed. Return to contact or throwing sport is typically a late-stage decision made jointly by surgeon and therapist.

Across all three, the honest message is that the shoulder’s own biology sets the pace. Pushing range of motion before the tendon or labrum has anchored does not speed healing; it risks the repair. Conversely, keeping the arm completely still beyond the prescribed phase courts stiffness. The staged plan exists to thread that needle, and it is one reason shoulder rehabilitation involves more supervised sessions than most knee or ankle programs.

Ankle arthroscopy recovery: a small joint with a long swelling tail

The ankle is the least discussed of the three and in some ways the most demanding to rehabilitate, for a simple hydraulic reason: it is the lowest joint in the body, and fluid pools there whenever you stand.

Common ankle arthroscopy procedures include removing bone spurs or scar tissue that pinch at the front of the joint (impingement), removing loose fragments, treating damaged cartilage on the talus (the bone that sits under the shin bones), and sometimes assisting ligament repair after repeated sprains.

After a simple debridement, the leg is often placed in a bulky dressing or boot, and weight-bearing with crutches is allowed as comfort permits, according to the surgeon’s specific instructions. Even then, people are routinely caught out by how much the ankle swells by evening for several weeks. Elevation above the heart, repeatedly through the day rather than once at bedtime, is the central early instruction. NHS guidance on arthroscopy in general describes swelling and stiffness persisting for weeks even when the incisions have healed.

Cartilage procedures change the picture. When a surgeon treats a cartilage defect on the talus, for example by creating small holes in the bone to encourage a repair tissue to form, the new surface is soft and vulnerable. These procedures usually come with a prescribed period of limited or no weight-bearing, and the surgeon sets its length. Ligament work carries its own protection phase in a boot while the repaired tissue tightens.

Shoes become a milestone of their own. Getting back into a normal lace-up shoe, rather than a boot or a sandal, often lags behind pain relief because of residual swelling, and marks the point at which most people feel they have turned a corner.

Arthroscopy recovery by joint: milestones side by side

The table below gathers typical patterns for common procedures. Every range is a guide, not a promise; the surgeon who saw inside your joint will give figures specific to you.

Milestone	Knee (meniscal trim)	Shoulder (rotator cuff repair)	Ankle (debridement)
Home	Same day (NHS)	Same day (NHS)	Same day (NHS)
Main protection	Crutches for balance, briefly	Sling, at least first week, longer after repair (MedlinePlus)	Boot or dressing; weight as surgeon allows
Dressings off	Days (NHS)	Days (NHS)	Days (NHS)
Desk work	Within days (Mayo Clinic)	Often about a week, one-handed (MedlinePlus)	Within days if the leg can be elevated
Driving	About 1–3 weeks (Mayo Clinic)	After sling is discontinued and control returns	Depends on side operated and boot use
Swelling settles	Weeks	Weeks	Weeks, often longest of the three
Full recovery	Weeks to a few months (MedlinePlus)	1 to 6 months (MedlinePlus)	Weeks to months (NHS)

Two patterns jump out. The early milestones, going home and losing the dressings, are almost identical across joints, which is why people assume the rest will match. The late milestones diverge sharply, and the divergence tracks what was repaired rather than where. Swap the knee column for an ACL reconstruction or the ankle column for a cartilage procedure, and the knee and ankle rows stretch toward the shoulder’s.

Use the table to frame questions, not to mark your calendar. If your surgeon’s timeline is longer than the table, that usually reflects a repair rather than a tidy-up, and following it protects the work.

Who is usually offered arthroscopy, and who is usually asked to wait?

Arthroscopy is generally considered when a specific mechanical problem has been identified, when it matches the person’s symptoms, and when non-surgical care has not settled it. Classic candidates include a knee that locks or catches from a displaced meniscal fragment, a shoulder with a confirmed tendon tear that fails to improve with therapy, or an ankle with bony impingement that blocks movement (Mayo Clinic; Cleveland Clinic).

The decision is rarely urgent, and that pause is often the point. Guideline bodies in several countries have moved away from arthroscopy as a routine treatment for degenerative knee pain in middle age, because trials have not shown it to outperform structured exercise for that group. So a person whose scan shows a worn meniscus alongside osteoarthritis, but whose knee does not lock, is commonly asked to try a supervised physical therapy program first. This is not a brush-off. It reflects the evidence that, for wear-related pain without mechanical symptoms, the knife has not been shown to beat the gym.

Timing also matters for repairs. A freshly injured, swollen knee is sometimes rested until movement returns before ligament reconstruction, because operating on a stiff joint tends to produce a stiff joint. Conversely, some tears are repaired sooner rather than later because tendon that retracts and scars becomes harder to reattach.

People with uncontrolled medical conditions, active skin infection near the joint, or a recent clotting problem are usually asked to wait while those are addressed. Smoking is frequently raised, because it impairs tendon and bone healing, and some teams ask people to stop before repair surgery.

Alternatives, including structured rehabilitation, activity modification, bracing and injections, sit on the same menu, and the treating team weighs them against the specific lesion.

The first days after arthroscopy: pain, swelling and what medicines are usually for

The first 72 hours look similar across joints, with one exception described below.

Pain is usually described as a deep ache rather than a sharp wound pain, and it tracks swelling. Care teams commonly use a combination approach: simple pain relievers such as acetaminophen for background discomfort; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which reduce the chemical signals that drive swelling and pain, where the person’s kidneys, stomach and other medicines allow; and sometimes a short course of stronger prescription analgesics for the first days. Each of these has specific cautions, and the prescribing clinician decides what is appropriate and for how long. Nothing here should be started, stopped or adjusted without that conversation (NHS; MedlinePlus).

The exception is the shoulder. Regional nerve blocks are frequently used, and when they wear off, often overnight, the pain can surge. Teams usually explain this and advise taking prescribed relief before the numbness fades.

Swelling responds to elevation, cooling for short periods with a barrier between ice and skin, and gentle movement of joints above and below the operated one. Keeping the calf muscles pumping also lowers the risk of a blood clot, which the NHS lists as a rare but recognized complication of any arthroscopy. Some people at higher clot risk are prescribed a blood-thinning medicine for a period after surgery; the decision and duration belong to the surgical team.

Dressings should stay dry until the team says otherwise. A small amount of pink-tinged fluid on the dressing in the first day is common because of the irrigation fluid. Increasing drainage, or fluid that becomes cloudy or smells, is not, and belongs in the red-flag section below.

How long after arthroscopy can I walk, drive and go back to work?

These three questions dominate every follow-up clinic, and the honest answer to each begins with “it depends on which joint and what was done,” followed by some genuinely useful typical ranges.

Walking. After a knee meniscal trim or loose-body removal, most people walk with crutches on the day of surgery and shed them over the first week or so as comfort allows (MedlinePlus). After a meniscal repair, cartilage procedure or ankle ligament work, the surgeon may limit weight-bearing for a defined number of weeks, and that instruction overrides general guidance. After shoulder surgery, walking is unrestricted from day one, which is a quietly important point: staying mobile lowers clot risk and keeps mood up even while the arm is in a sling.

Driving. Mayo Clinic gives roughly 1 to 3 weeks after arthroscopy as a typical window, but two practical tests matter more than the calendar: can you perform an emergency stop without hesitation, and is the operated limb free of a sling or boot that restricts control? Many insurers also expect you to be free of sedating pain medicines. Checking with both the surgeon and the insurer is routine.

Work. Desk-based roles are often resumed within days of a knee or ankle scope if the leg can be elevated, and within about a week after shoulder surgery, one-handed (Mayo Clinic; MedlinePlus). Jobs involving standing, lifting, ladders or overhead reach follow the full-recovery column instead, which for a shoulder repair can mean months (MedlinePlus). A phased return, agreed with the employer and the therapist, is usually easier on everyone than a hard date.

Sport is deliberately last. Return to running, pivoting, throwing or contact is a clinical decision based on strength, range and control, not on weeks elapsed.

Why physical therapy, not the surgery, decides how the joint ends up

If one opinion in this article deserves emphasis, it is this: the operation creates the opportunity, and rehabilitation determines whether you take it. Surgeons routinely say so, and the staged shoulder protocols described earlier are the clearest evidence of why.

The therapist’s early job is to restore range of motion before scar tissue sets the joint in a shortened position. For the knee, that means regaining full straightening within the first couple of weeks, since a knee that cannot fully extend walks with a limp that is hard to unlearn later. For the shoulder, it means passive movement within the surgeon’s limits so the capsule does not tighten while the repair is protected. For the ankle, it means early movement of the toes and gentle ankle motion to keep fluid moving and the joint from stiffening in the boot.

The middle phase rebuilds strength. Muscles switch off quickly after joint surgery, especially the quadriceps after knee procedures, and switching them back on with targeted exercise is what turns a healed joint into a usable one.

The late phase trains control: balance on one leg for the knee and ankle, coordinated overhead movement for the shoulder, and sport-specific drills for anyone returning to activity. This is the phase people are most tempted to skip because the joint already feels fine, and it is the phase that most reduces re-injury.

Home exercise matters as much as clinic visits. Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic both describe rehabilitation as a core component of arthroscopy recovery, and the people who do best tend to be those who treat the daily exercise sheet as a prescription rather than a suggestion.

What people often get wrong about arthroscopy recovery

Small incisions, small recovery. The scars are small because the camera is small. The tissue beneath may have been stitched to bone, and tendon-to-bone healing takes months whatever the scar looks like (MedlinePlus).

No pain means healed. Pain fades long before repairs mature. A shoulder that feels comfortable at six weeks after a cuff repair is still structurally vulnerable, which is why protocols restrict lifting even when it no longer hurts.

More exercise is better. Rehabilitation is dose-specific. Pushing a repaired meniscus into deep squats early, or stretching a repaired labrum into external rotation before the stage allows, is not keenness; it is risk. Follow the stage you are in.

Arthroscopy fixes arthritis. It does not. Cartilage that has worn away cannot be restored by smoothing it, and for degenerative knee pain without mechanical symptoms, structured exercise has performed as well as surgery in trials. Arthroscopy treats specific mechanical problems; it does not reverse wear (Cleveland Clinic).

The swelling should be gone by now. Swelling after knee and especially ankle arthroscopy commonly outlasts pain by weeks. Gradually improving swelling is normal. Suddenly worsening, hot or very tense swelling is not, and is covered below.

The quoted timeline is a deadline. Typical ranges describe populations. Your biology, your procedure and your adherence shape where you fall. Being slower than a neighbor is not failure; being faster than your protocol is not success.

Driving is fine as soon as it is comfortable. Comfort is not control. An emergency stop, a free limb and no sedating medicines are the real criteria, and insurers may have their own (Mayo Clinic).

Questions to ask your care team before and after arthroscopy

Good questions turn a generic timeline into your timeline. These are the ones that most often change what the following weeks look like.

• Which procedure was actually performed once you were inside, and did it differ from the plan? A trim that became a repair changes months of expectations.
• Am I allowed to put full weight through the leg, or is weight-bearing limited, and for how long?
• For the shoulder: how long is the sling for, and may I remove it to wash, dress or type?
• What movements are off limits in this stage, and when does the next stage begin?
• When should I start physical therapy, and who prescribes the home exercises?
• Which pain-relief medicines have I been prescribed, what is each for, and when should I expect to stop them? Any change goes back to the prescriber.
• Am I at increased risk of a blood clot, and is anything prescribed to lower that risk?
• When do dressings come off, and may I shower before then?
• What swelling is normal for this joint at this stage, and what would worry you?
• When can I drive, and does that depend on which side was operated on?
• When can I return to my specific job, and could a phased return be documented?
• What criteria, rather than dates, will you use to clear me for running, overhead work or sport?
• What would make you want to see me sooner than the booked follow-up?

Write the answers down or ask a companion to. The first appointment after surgery often arrives while pain relief is still clouding memory, and a written plan is the single most useful object to take home.

When to call your doctor after arthroscopy

Most of what you feel in the first weeks is ordinary healing: a dull ache, tightness, swelling that comes and goes with activity, small bruises tracking down the limb as fluid settles. A short list of signs is different, and each warrants a prompt call to the surgical team or, where indicated, emergency care (NHS; Mayo Clinic; MedlinePlus).

Call the same day if you notice:

• Fever, chills or feeling generally unwell in the days after surgery, especially alongside a joint that is becoming hotter, redder or more painful rather than less.
• Increasing redness spreading from an incision, cloudy or foul-smelling drainage, or a wound that opens.
• Pain that escalates despite prescribed relief and elevation, or a joint that becomes very tense and swollen over hours rather than days.
• Numbness, tingling or weakness in the hand or foot beyond what any nerve block was expected to cause, or that appears after the block has worn off.
• Calf pain, tenderness, swelling or warmth in the operated leg, which can signal a deep vein clot; this is uncommon but recognized after any lower-limb surgery.

Seek emergency care immediately for sudden shortness of breath, chest pain or coughing up blood, which can indicate a clot that has traveled to the lungs, or for a limb that turns pale, cold or dusky.

Being wrong is fine. Teams would far rather examine ten settled joints than miss one infection, and early treatment of the rare complication is what keeps it rare. Every decision about what the sign means, and what to do next, sits with the team who performed the surgery.

Frequently asked questions

How long is knee arthroscopy recovery time for a meniscus trim?

For a simple meniscal trim, most people walk the same day with crutches for balance and return to light activity within days, with full recovery over several weeks according to MedlinePlus. Swelling usually outlasts pain. A meniscal repair or ACL reconstruction in the same knee follows a much longer, protected timeline measured in months, so confirm which procedure was actually performed.

What does a shoulder arthroscopy recovery timeline usually look like?

MedlinePlus describes shoulder arthroscopy recovery as anywhere from 1 to 6 months. A sling is standard for at least the first week and longer after a tendon or labral repair. Rehabilitation moves through passive movement, then active movement, then strengthening. Decompression without repair sits at the quick end; rotator cuff repair sits at the slow end, with overhead work and sport last.

How long does ankle arthroscopy recovery take?

After a simple ankle debridement, people often bear weight in a boot as comfort allows and return to desk work within days, with full recovery over weeks to months as NHS guidance describes for arthroscopy generally. Cartilage or ligament procedures usually add a period of protected or restricted weight-bearing set by the surgeon. Swelling is typically the slowest symptom to settle.

How long after arthroscopy can I walk?

After shoulder arthroscopy, you can walk immediately. After a knee meniscal trim, most people walk on the day of surgery with crutches for support and discard them over the first week or so (MedlinePlus). After meniscal repair, cartilage procedures or ankle ligament work, the surgeon may limit weight-bearing for a defined number of weeks, and that specific instruction always takes priority over general ranges.

When can I drive after arthroscopy?

Mayo Clinic gives roughly 1 to 3 weeks as a typical window after arthroscopy, but the practical tests matter more: you should be able to perform an emergency stop without hesitation, be free of a sling or boot that limits control, and not be taking sedating pain medicines. Which side was operated on also matters. Check with your surgeon and your insurer.

Why is my joint still swollen weeks after arthroscopy?

Swelling commonly outlasts pain after arthroscopy, particularly in the knee and ankle, because the joint lining reacts to the procedure and fluid pools in the lowest parts of the body. Gradually improving swelling that worsens with activity and settles with elevation is expected. Sudden, hot, tense or rapidly increasing swelling, especially with fever or calf pain, is not and should be reported promptly.

Does arthroscopy treat knee arthritis?

Not in the sense most people hope. Smoothing worn cartilage does not restore it, and trials have not shown arthroscopy to outperform structured exercise for degenerative knee pain without mechanical symptoms such as locking. Arthroscopy treats specific mechanical problems like a displaced meniscal fragment or a loose body. For wear-related pain, many teams recommend supervised physical therapy first.

What are the 3 main types of joints, and what is the definition of a joint?

A joint is simply where two or more bones meet. Anatomists describe three main types: fibrous joints that barely move, such as the seams of the skull; cartilaginous joints that move slightly, such as between the vertebrae; and synovial joints, which have a fluid-filled capsule and move freely. The knee, shoulder and ankle are all synovial joints, which is why a camera can be placed inside them.

Can I shower after arthroscopy?

Usually yes once the team confirms the dressings may be covered or removed, which is commonly within a few days. Keep the incisions dry until then, avoid soaking the joint in a bath or pool until the wounds have fully closed, and pat rather than rub. Your discharge instructions will give the specific timing for your procedure, and the team can clarify if anything is unclear.

What are the main risks of arthroscopy?

NHS guidance lists infection, bleeding, blood clots in the leg veins, nerve or blood vessel injury near the incisions, and persistent stiffness or swelling as recognized but uncommon complications. Risk varies with the joint, the procedure and individual health factors such as smoking or clotting history. Your surgeon should discuss the risks and the non-surgical alternatives relevant to your specific situation before you consent.

References

• Arthroscopy (NHS)
• Knee arthroscopy (MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia)
• Shoulder arthroscopy (MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia)

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.