With the camera in one hand and the shaver instrument in the other, the surgeon is able to see the abrasion of the damaged area on the monitor.
The logic of abrasion arthroplasty
The word 'arthroplasty' means 'reshaping of the joint'. 'Abrasion' means to 'grind down'.
So the term abrasion arthroplasty implies a surgical procedure to reshape the joint by grinding down the damaged surface. However, the procedure is now considered to be one of the 'marrow stimulation' procedures whereby the abrading leads to the release of mesenchymal stem cells from the underlying bone marrow, and that these have the potential to repair to some extent the damaged cartilage.
Peer-reviewed papersQuote from peer-reviewed paper:
"Abrasion arthroplasty is used for cartilage lesions of any grade....it is easy to perform especially if cartilage lesions are seen during a diagnostic procedure. For most other marrow-stimulating procedures, special drills have to be used whereas [arthroscopic abrasion arthroplasty] can be performed with a shaver. "
Citation: Beckmann R, Lippross S, Hartz C, Tohidnezhad M, Ferreira MS, Neuss-Stein S, Seekamp A, Nebelung S, Kweider N, Rath B, Jahr H, Pufe T, Varoga DJ. Abrasion arthroplasty increases mesenchymal stem cell content of postoperative joint effusions. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2015 Sep 12;16:250. doi: 10.1186/s12891-015-0705-0. PMID: 26364138; PMCID: PMC4567829.
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Patients working their way through understanding knee rehabilitation after surgery.