What is an Arthroscopy vs Arthroplasty with Dr. Luke Fraundorf
If you end up needing a surgical procedure, it is important to understand what’s going on in your body and to make the right treatment decision. Dr. Luke Fraundorf, OSMS Orthopedic Surgeon, discusses the difference between an arthroscopy, otherwise known as a scope, and arthroplasty, otherwise known as a joint replacement. OSMS philosophy is to exhaust all other options before surgery, that’s why we operate on less than 30% of our patients.
Q: Tell us who you are and what can patients expect from you as their physician.
“I’m an orthopedic surgeon treating many common conditions, including painful joints and injuries around the hand, shoulder, hip, and knee. This includes performing joint replacement surgeries, arthroscopic surgeries, among many other procedures. When patients see me, they should expect compassionate and personalized care geared towards identifying the problem and presenting treatment options. My goal for patient interactions is for them to come away from our visit with an understanding of what’s occurring in their body and with the tools to make an informed decision about treatment based on their priorities and lifestyle.”
Q: Could you describe what those are and what the difference between an arthroscopy and arthroplasty?
“That’s a great question. A lot of medical terminology can be pretty confusing. Arthroscopy and arthroplasty are two different types of orthopedic surgery. Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgery performed around a joint utilizing small incisions, a camera, and specialized tools to diagnose and treat injuries of the shoulder, knee, and also can be performed in many other joints. Common injuries treated arthroscopically include rotator cuff injuries and meniscal injuries. Arthroplasty, or joint replacement, is a surgery designed to replace a worn out or arthritic joint with an artificial joint. The goal of joint replacement is to improve quality of life and decrease pain from an arthritic joint that may be limiting patients from doing activities that they wish to perform.”
Q: Would you also be able to let us know what some indicators or signs are that someone may need a scope or joint replacement?
“To determine if a patient would benefit from an arthroscopic or joint replacement surgery, they would really need to see an orthopedic surgeon and be evaluated. Some common signs or symptoms that may require a patient to see an orthopedic surgeon would be joint pain that’s persistent and not improving, unusual swelling of a joint, or loss of motion or function of a joint.”
Q: So then, when it comes to the people who are candidates or they are considering a scope or a joint replacement, what are some of the benefits that they could find from having that done?
“The benefits of orthopedic surgery, whether that’s arthroscopic or joint replacement, is truly improvement of quality of life. Most of our surgeries are geared towards returning patients to the activities they enjoy doing.”
Q: When it comes to recovery time, where people will be able to get back to the things they love doing, what does that look like?
“Recovery from a simple knee scope can be as quick as two to four weeks, where recovery from more complex repairs can take up to six months to fully recover. For joint replacement, we typically will tell patients it takes about 3 months for them to get back to their normal life. So many of our patients are back to enjoying life quite a bit earlier than that.”
OSMS has locations in Green Bay, Marinette, Neenah and Oshkosh. To make an appointment, give us a call at (920)-430-8113 or Schedule an Appointment.
