Knee arthroscopy surgery at Spire Thames Valley Hospital

At Spire Thames Valley Hospital, we offer fast diagnosis and treatment without the wait. We provide aftercare for as long as you need it in our clean, modern facilities.

If you need treatment, we can offer you a choice of expert orthopaedic surgeons who are committed to providing high-quality treatments and care that's personalised to you.

At Spire Thames Valley Hospital, we have wide experience of performing knee arthroscopy in our high-quality facilities, including two 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.

Getting here

We’re only a 10 minute drive from both the M4 and M40 motorways and we’re less than half an hour from central London by train. We have free parking available for you and your visitors at the front and back of the hospital.

Your consultations

For your appointments, you’ll meet your consultant in one of our 10 consultation rooms. All of our rooms are accessible, so there’s no need to worry about stairs if your knee is very painful.

If you haven’t been diagnosed yet, your consultant will do the following before a knee arthroscopy:

• Discuss what may have happened to cause your symptoms (eg a sports injury or fall)
• Ask about your medical history
• They may recommend using our advanced scanning, imaging and diagnostic technologies to look at your knee to help understand the cause of your pain or mobility issues

Your consultations give you an opportunity to discuss your needs and expectations from your surgery. We can then outline a treatment and care plan that’s tailored to you.

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 lounge which has a TV and free hot drinks or water 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

It’s common to experience some pain or discomfort, but rest assured that we have a dedicated healthcare team who’ll be able to provide pain relief medication and ensure you’re as comfortable as possible. You shouldn't feel as much pain after an arthroscopy than with traditional surgery, and how long this lasts depends on:

• Your condition or injury
• What treatment (if any) you had
• If you have an ongoing knee disease or injury needing further treatment

After your surgery, your consultant will discuss how your investigation/treatment went, and any future procedures you may benefit from. Typically, you’ll be able to go home later the same day or the day after your knee arthroscopy.

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