Potential complications of Knee arthroscopic surgery
Arthroscopy of the knee is not entirely a benign procedure. Like many other operations it carries certain risks to the patient. All due care is undertaken to proceed with as minimal risk to the patient, and may result in the patient undergoing further specialist assessment prior to confirmation of suitability to proceed with arthroscopy.
Complications could be related to the anaesthetic, or pre-existing health issues such as chest infections, cardiac issues, and unrelated health issues that are undiagnosed at the time of the procedure. Possible complications of lower limb surgery are deep vein thrombosis (DVT), infection, swelling and bleeding/bruising.
Post-surgery there will be some stiffness and pain for a few weeks which settles down after approximately eight weeks. Usually after a knee arthroscopy operation, “clean-up”, you can walk without crutches. In some instances there may be some residual numbness around the knee. A small percentage of patients undergoing surgery report pain worse than before the procedure: this usually happens when the knee joint is worn (osteoarthritis).
