Sports Injury

Fractures and ligament tears are common injuries in sports. Because of its complex structure and weight-bearing capacity, the knee is the most commonly injured joint. Meniscal, ACL and PCL tear are the most common knee injuries in sports.

• A meniscal tear is a tear in the meniscus, a shock-absorbing structure in the knee. There are two menisci in each knee, one on the inside, and one on the outside.
• An Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear involves changing direction and turning, occurring most notably by landing from a jump onto a bent knee then twisting, or landing on a knee that is over-extended. In collision sports, direct contact to the knee from opponents can cause an ACL injury.
• The Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) is larger and stronger than the ACL. In most PCL injuries, the mechanism of injury is usually a blow to the front of the upper shin. Unlike ACL injuries, there is not usually knee pain or swelling with isolated PCL tears. So long as there is no damage to other knee joint structures, and there is no knee joint instability, most people can return to sports in 4-6 weeks using a Knee Brace, following physiotherapy treatment.

Arthroscopic Surgery

Arthroscopic surgery (also called Arthroscopy) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage of the interior of a joint is performed using an arthroscope, a type of endoscope that is inserted into the joint through a small incision. Arthroscopic procedures can be performed either to evaluate or to treat many orthopaedic conditions including torn floating cartilage, torn surface cartilage, ACL reconstruction, and trimming damaged cartilage.

The advantage of arthroscopy over traditional open surgery is that the joint does not have to be opened up fully. Instead, only two small incisions are made - one for the arthroscope and one for the surgical instruments to be used in the knee cavity to fully remove the knee cap. This reduces recovery time and may increase the rate of surgical success due to less trauma to the connective tissue. It is especially useful for professional athletes, who frequently injure knee joints and require fast healing time.

Services offered include:

• Arthroscopic surgery of the knee, shoulder, ankle, including meniscal repair, chondroplasty and ligament reconstruction, ACL / PCL reconstruction.
• Autologous stem cell transplantation for articular defects.