If you have a shiny new pump that works for you, I won't argue with
you. But the simple old-fashioned way turned out to be a eureka
moment for me, and it's also a money-saver.
• 70-degree scope. The vast majority of orthopedic surgeons
rely heavily on 30-degree arthroscopes for shoulders, knees and
ankles, but it's important to have a 70-degree scope in your arsenal,
too — and to know when to use it.
For example, in elbow arthroscopy, the 70 is very helpful when you
want to see the coronoid fassa and look for loose bodies in the anterior
compartment. In the gutters especially, it's nice to have. Or, if you're
working in the posterior knee compartment — and you want to be able
to see the posteromedial and posterolateral recesses, that's very easy to
do. Just put the 70-degree scope right through the middle on either side
of one of the cruciate ligaments, depending on which compartment you
want to see, and it will let you see around the corner much better. The
same goes for ankle reconstruction. If you're looking for Talar Dome
osteochondral lesions, it's nice to have the 70-degree scope.
I actually look forward to the day when we'll have flexible scopes in
orthopedics, like those that are available to gastroenterologists. Not
only would we improve visualization, but also we'd be less likely to
ding some of the internal structures that rigid scopes can bump up
against.
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"I look forward to the day when we'll have
flexible scopes in orthopedics — like those that
are available to gastroenterologists."
— Christopher V. Bensen, MD
