**Exhibit 3.1**

**AMENDED AND RESTATED**

**CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION**

**OF**

**ARTHROCARE CORPORATION**

         The undersigned, Michael A. Baker, and Michael W. Hall hereby certify that:

         1.    They are the duly elected and acting President and Secretary, respectively, of ArthroCare Corporation, a DelawareCorporation.

         2.    The Certificate of Incorporation of this corporation was originally filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware onOctober 20, 1995.

        3.    This Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation has been duly adopted by the board of directors and thestockholders****of the Corporation in accordance with the provisions of Sections 242 and 245 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as amended.

        4.    The Certificate of Incorproation of this corporation shall be amended and restated to read in full as follows:

"ARTICLE I

         The name of the corporation is ArthroCare Corporation (the "Corporation").

ARTICLE II

         The address of the Corporation's registered office in the State of Delaware is 1209 Orange Street, City of Wilmington, County of New Castle,Delaware 19801. The name of its registered agent at such address is The Corporation Trust Company.

ARTICLE III

         The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General CorporationLaw of Delaware.

ARTICLE IV

         The Corporation is authorized to issue two classes of shares of stock to be designated, respectively, Common Stock, $0.001 par value, andPreferred Stock, $0.001 par value. The total number of shares that the Corporation is authorized to issue is 80,000,000 shares. The number ofshares of Common Stock authorized is 75,000,000. The number of shares of Preferred authorized is 5,000,000.

        Upon the effective date of the filing of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, every share of this Corporation's outstandingCommon Stock, par value $0.001 per share, shall be converted and reconstituted into two (2) shares of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the "Stock Split"). 

      The Preferred Stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series pursuant to a resolution or resolutions providing for such issue duly adopted by theboard of directors (authority to do so being hereby expressly vested in the board). The board of directors is further authorized to determine or alter the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions granted to or imposed upon any wholly unissued series of Preferred Stock and to fix the number of shares of any series of Preferred Stock and the designation of any such series of Preferred Stock. The board ofdirectors, within the limits and restrictions stated in any resolution or resolutions of the board of directors originally fixing the number of shares constituting any series, may increase or decrease (but not below the number of shares in any suchseries then outstanding) the number of shares of any series subsequent to the issue of shares of that series.

         The authority of the board of directors with respect to each such class or series shall include, without limitation of the foregoing, the rightto determine and fix:

                 (a)    the distinctive designation of such class or series and the number ofshares to constitute such class or series;

                 (b)    the rate at which dividends on the shares of such class or seriesshall be declared and paid, or set aside for payment, whether dividends at the rate so determined shall be cumulative or accruing, and whether the shares of such class or series shall be entitled to any participating or other dividends in additionto dividends at the rate so determined, and if so, on what terms;

                 (c)    the right or obligation, if any, of the corporation to redeem sharesof the particular class or series of Preferred Stock and, if redeemable, the price, terms and manner of such redemption;

                 (d)    the special and relative rights and preferences, if any, and theamount or amounts per share, which the shares of such class or series of Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive upon any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation;

                 (e)    the terms and conditions, if any, upon which shares of such class orseries shall be convertible into, or exchangeable for, shares of capital stock of any other class or series, including the price or prices or the rate or rates of conversion or exchange and the terms of adjustment, if any;

                 (f)    the obligation, if any, of the corporation to retire, redeem orpurchase shares of such class or series pursuant to a sinking fund or fund of a similar nature or otherwise, and the terms and conditions of such obligation;

                 (g)    voting rights, if any, on the issuance of additional shares of suchclass or series or any shares of any other class or series of Preferred Stock;

                 (h)    limitations, if any, on the issuance of additional shares of suchclass or series or any shares of any other class or series of Preferred Stock; and

                 (i)    such other preferences, powers, qualifications, special or relativerights and privileges thereof as the board of directors of the corporation, acting in accordance with this Restated Certificate of Incorporation, may deem advisable and are not inconsistent with law and the provisions of this Restated Certificate ofIncorporation.

ARTICLE V

         The Corporation reserves the right to amend, alter, change, or repeal any provision contained in this Certificate of Incorporation, in the mannernow or hereafter prescribed by statute, and all rights conferred upon the stockholders herein are granted subject to this right.

ARTICLE VI

         The Corporation is to have perpetual existence.

ARTICLE VII

         1.    Limitation of Liability. To the fullest extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware as thesame exists or as may hereafter be amended, a director of the Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director.

         2.    Indemnification. The Corporation may indemnify to the fullest extent permitted by law any person made or threatened tobe made a party to an action or proceeding, whether criminal, civil, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that such person or his or her testator or intestate is or was a director, officer or employee of the Corporation, or anypredecessor of the Corporation, or serves or served at any other enterprise as a director, officer or employee at the request of the Corporation or any predecessor to the Corporation.

         3.    Amendments. Neither any amendment nor repeal of this Article VII, nor the adoption of any provision of theCorporation's Certificate of Incorporation inconsistent with this Article VII, shall eliminate or reduce the effect of this Article VII, in respect of any matter occurring, or any action or proceeding accruing or arising or that, but for thisArticle VII, would accrue or arise, prior to such amendment, repeal, or adoption of an inconsistent provision.

ARTICLE VIII

         In the event any shares of Preferred Stock shall be redeemed or converted pursuant to the terms hereof, the shares so converted or redeemed shallnot revert to the status of authorized but unissued shares, but instead shall be canceled and shall not be re-issuable by the Corporation.

ARTICLE IX

         Holders of stock of any class or series of this corporation shall not be entitled to cumulate their votes for the election of directors or anyother matter submitted to a vote of the stockholders, unless such cumulative voting is required pursuant to Sections 2115 and/or 301.5 of the California Corporations Code, in which event each such holder shall be entitled to as many votes as shallequal the number of votes which (except for this provision as to cumulative voting) such holder would be entitled to cast for the election of directors with respect to his shares of stock multiplied by the number of directors to be elected by him,and the holder may cast all of such votes for a single director or may distribute them among the number of directors to be voted for, or for any two or more of them as such holder may seefit, so long as the name of the candidate for director shall have been placed in nomination prior to the voting and the stockholder, or any other holder of the same class or series of stock, has given notice at the meeting prior to the voting of theintention to cumulate votes.

ARTICLE X

         1.    Number of Directors. The number of directors which constitutes the whole Board of Directors of the corporation shall bedesignated in the Bylaws of the corporation.

         2.    Election of Directors. Elections of directors need not be by written ballot unless the Bylaws of the corporation shallso provide. 

ARTICLE XI

         In furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by statute, the Board of Directors is expressly authorized to make, alter, amend orrepeal the Bylaws of the corporation.

ARTICLE XII

         No action shall be taken by the stockholders of the corporation except at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders called in accordancewith the Bylaws of the corporation, and no action shall be taken by the stockholders by written consent. 

ARTICLE XIII

        Meetings of stockholders may be held within or without the State of Delaware, as the Bylaws may provide. The books of the Corporation may be kept(subject to any provisioncontained in the statutes) outside of the State of Delaware at such place or places as may be designated from time to time by the Board of Directors or in the Bylaws of the Corporation."

*        *        *

        IN WITNESS WHEREOF, ArthroCare Corporation has caused this certificate to be signed byMichael A. Baker, its President, and Michael W. Hall, its Secretary, this 3rd day of July, 2000.