Some disorders are treated with a combination of arthroscopic diagnosis and open surgery, and occasionally a surgeon, viewing the joint through the arthroscope, discovers that the damage is too extensive or too difficult to accomplish arthroscopically. Then open surgery may be performed, either on the spot if the patient had previously approved that possibility, or later after the surgeon and patient have discussed the findings. Otherwise you might spend one or two days in the hospital. Either way, you will be given an anesthetic. Many patients require little or no pain medication after arthroscopy.
Arthroscopic incisions are so small that they usually require no more than one stitch, if any.
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