Knee arthroscopy surgery at Spire Hull and East Riding Hospital

At Spire Hull and East Riding 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 most from your operation.

We offer fast access to diagnostic tests and scans and easy booking with appointment times to suit you. So you don’t have to wait long to find out if treatment is right for you.

At Spire Hull and East Riding Hospital, we have wide experience of performing knee arthroscopy in our high-quality facilities. The procedures offered to you will depend on your symptoms or condition. Some of our consultants perform microfracture – a technique where they make small holes in your bones to stimulate cartilage growth.

We also have four laminar flow operating theatres which regulate air flow to minimise the risk of infection.

Getting here

Spire Hull and East Riding Hospital is just 15 minutes from Hull city centre, with free parking available. Public transport options are available.

Your consultations

All your consultations will take place in one of our 17 accessible private rooms, so 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 they're easily accessible
• Explain 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 will explain your recovery plan.

Here’s what will happen on the day of your knee arthroscopy:

• You’ll meet your orthopaedic surgeon again and your anaesthetist
• You’ll be given the type of anaesthetic that you’ve agreed with your consultant – either a general, when you’re asleep, or a spinal or epidural, when you’re either sedated or awake but can’t feel anything below your waist
• 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
• They'll then repair damage to cartilage or ligaments, remove loose bone fragments or scar tissue, and may take tissue samples if there’s inflammation

Usually, you can go home on the same day or the following day after a knee arthroscopy. Your consultant will discuss how the investigation or treatment went and whether they recommend further surgery.

You may feel some pain once the anaesthetic wears off, but don’t worry, your healthcare team will give you painkillers to help with this. How long any pain lasts and your recovery time will depend on what your consultant needed to do during your procedure. If you’ve had any treatment, it may take longer than if you just had an investigation.

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