Knee arthroscopy surgery at Spire Nottingham Hospital

At Spire Nottingham Hospital, our team of orthopaedic (bone and muscle) surgeons can offer you a treatment and care plan that's personal to you and your needs. Our dedicated nurses and physiotherapists will provide expert aftercare to help you get the best result from your operation.

At Spire Nottingham Hospital, we have wide experience of performing knee arthroscopy in our high-quality facilities, including four operating theatres with laminar flow. These theatres regulate air flow to reduce the risk of infection.

The procedures offered to you will depend on your symptoms or condition. Some of our consultants perform microfracture – where they make small holes in your bones to stimulate cartilage growth.

Getting here

Spire Nottingham Hospital is situated five miles south from Nottingham city centre off the A52. Nottingham station is approximately 15 minutes by taxi from the hospital. We have 300 free parking spaces for you and your visitors.

Your consultations

Your appointments will take place in one of our 20 accessible consultation rooms, so please don’t worry if you have difficulty walking.

During your consultations, we'll:

• Ask about your medical history
• Say whether you need an X-ray, and/or an MRI or CT scan so we can examine your knee in more detail – again, all scanning rooms are on the ground floor, so are easily accessible
• Explain all about what will happen during the procedure
• Tell you about your different anaesthetic options, and help you choose the right one for you
• Answer all your questions about your surgery

Once you and your consultant have agreed to go ahead with your knee arthroscopy, your consultant and your physiotherapist will explain your recovery plan.

On the day

Before your procedure, you’ll meet your orthopaedic surgeon again and your anaesthetist. Depending on what you’ve agreed upon with your consultant, you’ll either have:

• A general anaesthetic so you’re asleep
• An epidural or spinal anaesthetic, when you can’t feel anything below your waist
• A local anaesthetic so you can’t feel your knee

If you’ve come with a friend or family member, they’re welcome to wait in our café while you have your operation.

Your procedure

• Your surgeon will make two or more small incisions into your knee then pass the arthroscope (a thin, flexible, telescopic instrument with a light and a tiny video camera on the end) into your knee joint to view it
• Any damage to cartilage or ligaments will then be repaired, loose bone fragments or scar tissue removed or tissue samples collected if there’s inflammation

After your operation, you may go home on the same day or the following day, depending on the time of your surgery. Your consultant may also explain to you what’s been found and whether they recommend further treatment.

Although there’s less pain after an arthroscopy than with traditional surgery, you’re likely to feel discomfort once the anaesthetic wears off. How long this lasts will depend on:

• The cause of your knee pain
• Whether you had any treatment during the procedure
• If you have an ongoing knee disease or injury needing further treatment
• Your personal pain threshold

You can take painkillers to help you manage over the following days. Your physiotherapist will also give you an exercise plan to help you get active again, plus a guide to how long your recovery will take.

Although everybody’s different and you should always follow your consultant’s advice, here’s a typical recovery timeline for knee arthroscopy: