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You can regain mobility and range of motion by undergoing a minimally invasive chondroplasty procedure called an arthroscopy.
Chondroplasty is a procedure where physicians drill bone adjacent to knee cartilage to relieve pressure. They then fill the bone with cement or paste.
A physician may perform this procedure if you find that you have pain in your knee or stress reactions such as a fracture underneath the cartilage. This can occur whether or not you have a history of accidents, falls or injuries.
Although the procedure is normally minimally invasive, you may wonder about knee chondroplasty pricing. Before you learn about knee surgery costs, however, it’s helpful to learn more about the procedure itself.
What Is a Knee Chondroplasty?
A knee chondroplasty is a minimally invasive procedure. Physicians may perform it to treat the pain associated with the breakdown of the cartilage in your knee.
An arthroscopic chondroplasty enables a surgeon to see what’s going on in your knee. By performing the procedure, they can also see what’s going on with the structures that hold it in place.
They can perform the procedure with one or two incisions. If they find problems, they can make repairs during the procedure.
Because the procedure is minimally invasive, you can recover from it relatively quickly. Also, you’ll typically experience less scarring compared to what you may have experienced in the past.
Each incision is about half of an inch in length. After making any needed incisions, the surgeon will insert an arthroscope to inspect your knee.
What Will I Experience During the Procedure?
After the physician inserts the arthroscope in your knee, they can see inside and around your knee joint. They may also use a special instrument to pump fluid into your knee. This part of the procedure will make it easier for them to look around and find any other knee problems.
During the arthroscope chondroplasty, the surgeon will use small medical instruments to remove any loose fragments. They will also shave away any damaged cartilage.
Once they complete the procedure, the surgeon will drain any excess fluid. They’ll finish off by closing the incisions with a stitch.
The surgeon may find other problems with your knee. In this case, they’ll also repair those injuries during the procedure.
During the chondroplasty part of the procedure, the surgeon will treat any damaged cartilage. This treatment will enable new, healthy tissue to grow and replace the damaged tissue.
The surgeon may also find other problems. For instance, they may notice a degenerative condition such as arthritis.
If you are experiencing knee joint pain before the procedure, you may also have trouble with knee stability. For example, your knee may lock, pop or give way from time to time. The surgeon will also deal with this problem during the arthroscope chondroplasty procedure.
Knee Chondroplasty Pricing
On average, an arthroscope chondroplasty knee procedure costs $18,975 in the United States. However, the overall cost of the procedure can range from $5,700 to $23,650 on average.
Your cost for the procedure will depend on whether the surgeon performs it at an inpatient facility such as a hospital or an outpatient facility such as a surgical theater.
Historically, surgeons have only been able to perform the procedure in a hospital. Now, however, they can also perform arthroscope chondroplasties at outpatient surgery centers.
An outpatient surgery center is just as safe as a hospital. However, it may cost you less to have the procedure performed in an outpatient surgery center compared to an inpatient hospital. Ideally, you want to aim for a total bill of around $11,000, whether or not you have health insurance.
On average, patients pay close to $19,000 for the procedure. Across the United States, some patients pay as little as $5,000 for the procedure, while others have paid well over $22,000.
The average cost for an arthroscope chondroplasty at outpatient facilities is a little over $12,000. At inpatient facilities, patients paid an average of over $20,000 for the same procedure.
Your final cost will also depend on various factors, such as whether you need reconstructive procedures as well as whether you use an in-network or out-of-network surgeon.
To find out a closer estimate of what you’d have to pay for the procedure, ask your insurer about knee surgery coverage.
Recovering From Knee Surgery
Your surgeon or physician will likely recommend regular exercise after the procedure. Regular exercise will restore strength and mobility to your knee. You need to follow the doctor’s advice for a full recovery after your surgery.
The surgeon or a therapist may recommend exercises for 20 to 30 minutes a day or 2 to 3 times a day. During your recovery, your exercise regimen may include:
- Buttocks tucks
- Hamstring contractions
- Hamstring stretches
- Knee bends
- Knee extensions
- Quadricep contractions
- SquatsStraight leg raises (both lying down and seated)
The surgeon or therapist may also recommend that you maintain a daily walking regimen.
Learn More About Staying Healthy
If you think that you have serious knee problems, don’t put off finding a chondroplasty doctor. Make sure that you tell them about the problem as soon as possible so that they can come up with the best treatment plan. Dealing with the problem as soon as possible can also help you to save on knee chondroplasty pricing.
Dealing with a knee problem may not prove as painful as you might imagine. Today, physicians typically use minimally invasive procedures.
It helps to learn as much as possible about caring for your body. If you want to learn more about your body and possible remedies, visit Biig.org to learn about more health facts and tips.
