Arthroscopy in the dog

摘要

In the last 20 years arthroscopy has opened new frontiers in the diagnosis and therapy of joint pathologies. After a certain delay, arthroscopy has broadened its field of applications so much that, as for human and equine medicine, this method has virtually replaced most of the traditional arthrotomic procedures, at least for some joints and some pathologies. After years of scepticism and many technical and cultural difficulties, arthroscopy is now a routine orthopaedic procedure, at least in specialized centres. Initially considered a more advanced technique that could sometimes substitute for arthrotomy, arthroscopy is now recognized as allowing a unique diagnostic and therapeutic approach that no other 'substitutive procedure' can provide.