Arthroscopic lavage is the washing out or cleaning out the contents (blood, fluid or loose debris) inside a joint space. Lavage is a general term referring to the therapeutic washing, cleaning or rinsing.

Medical uses

Excessive growth of irritated

synovial membrane The synovial membrane (also known as the synovial stratum, synovium or stratum synoviale) is a specialized connective tissue that lines the inner surface of capsules of synovial joints and tendon sheath. It makes direct contact with the fibrous ...

causes it to increase its surface area by buckling into fronds, and the fronds may become inflamed and pour destructive enzymes into the joint space, causing joint swelling and joint surface destruction. Removing this excess material via lavage frequently resolves arthritic knee inflammation or pain. Arthroscopic lavage is one of many procedures available to help reverse the damage of early

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

. There is, however, controversy about the value of simple lavage and debridement for the older patient with established

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the ...

. Needle lavage should not be used in an attempt to treat persons seeking long-term relief for symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee., which cites * * The use of this treatment in this case has not been shown to decrease pain, stiffness, tenderness, or swelling, or to increase 50-foot walking time or body function.

Technique

Arthroscopic lavage is generally combined with

arthroscopic Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

debridement Debridement is the medical removal of dead, damaged, or infected tissue to improve the healing potential of the remaining healthy tissue. Removal may be surgical, mechanical, chemical, autolytic (self-digestion), and by maggot therapy. I ...

, where fronds of joint material or degenerative tissue are removed using a combination of injected fluid and a small vacuum, i.e. both washing (rinsing) and sucking. 'Arthroscopic' means that this is done using a tiny incision at the joint, where a thin arthroscope is pushed into the joint to inspect the structures.

References

External links

progress-report-anthroscopic-lavage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arthroscopic Lavage Endoscopy Orthopedic treatment