Shoulder arthroscopy

A shoulder arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which a thin camera (arthroscope) is inserted into the shoulder joint through small incisions. This allows the surgeon to look closely at the inside of the shoulder joint to make diagnoses and treat various problems.

Shoulder arthroscopy is often used for:

• Rotator cuff tears to repair damaged tendons.
• Shoulder instability: to stabilize the joint, especially with recurrent dislocations.
• Shoulder impingement to remove tissue rubbing on tendons and causing pain.
• Osteoarthritis to remove inflamed tissue or smooth the joint.
• Calcific tendinitis to remove the calcific deposit from the shoulder tendon.
• Frozen shoulder to surgically release a shrunken joint capsule.
• Biceps tendon injuries to either reconstruct the tendon anchorage, move the original anchorage (tenodesis) or cut the tendon permanently (tenotomy).