Arthroscopic surgery is a minimally invasive procedure used to exam and often treatment damaged joints.   Types of procedures include    torn floating cartilage, torn surface cartilage, ACL reconstruction, and trimming damaged cartilage.   An arthroscope is a type of endoscope that is inserted into the joint through a small incision.

One advantage of arthroscopic surgery over traditional open surgery is that the joint does not have to be fully opened.  Several small incisions are made - for the arthroscope and for surgical instruments.  Because the incisions are small there is less trauma to the connective tissue. Often, recovery time is reduced and there is less scarring than with conventional surgery.