Arthroscopic Knee Surgery At The Everett Clinic
The Everett Clinic has systems in place to insure that your care is based on the latest evidence-based research and accompanied by the most advanced technological care. Expert surgeons use cutting edge techniques, such as 3D image-guided surgery, robotic assisted surgery, artificial intelligence and more. Also, advanced data sharing systems allow doctors to communicate easily and provide you with the best possible care.
Interview with Dr. Brian Hallgarth
INTERVIEWER: Why do people need arthroscopic knee surgery?
DR. HALLGARTH: When I first came out of training, arthroscopy was just starting. So I really got in on the ground level, so to speak, and I’ve been fortunate to see arthroscopic surgery evolve and become more and more refined over the past 25 years.
Most of the time, when people come to me needing arthroscopic knee surgery, they have meniscus tears. That’s probably the most common arthroscopic knee problem that we address, and it’s a great way to take care of a meniscus tear. Before arthroscopy, the surgery for a knee meniscus tear really involved a great deal of recovery time and I was fortunate, maybe unfortunate, enough to see a few of those when I was finishing up my training. Arthroscopy was really a great leap forward in the treatment of the meniscus tear.
INTERVIEWER: Why is it better for the patient?
DR. HALLGARTH: From a patient benefit perspective the recovery from arthroscopic surgery is quite a bit faster than the older techniques. And, I think that we actually do a better job. It took us a little bit of time to get used to looking through an arthroscope, but I think that overall we get a better view of the joint. We see more and we can do a better job in treating knee problems with it.
INTERVIEWER: What advances in arthroscopic surgery have you seen at The Everett Clinic?
DR. HALLGARTH: There have been a lot of advances. The biggest advance that we’ve seen is the advance in equipment. Initially, the equipment was very good-sized and clunky; and it was a bit difficult to manipulate it in the knee. Over time the equipment has become smaller, easier to move around in the joint, and therefore the procedures have been scaled down to a point where they’re quicker and patients get through them a lot easier.
INTERVIEWER: What is the typical course of a patient having outpatient knee surgery?
DR. HALLGARTH: For people having the arthroscopic knee surgery it’s generally done at the surgery center. And here at The Everett Clinic we have a very nice surgery center in the Gunderson building. It is well equipped; we have a very good staff. For the arthroscopic knee procedures the patient generally comes in, meets with the anesthesia provider, has an anesthetic (whether it be a spinal anesthetic or a general anesthetic), and the surgical procedure itself takes about 45 minutes.
After the procedure is completed, the patient returns to the recovery area. For most arthroscopic knee procedures, it just involves a bulky dressing around their knee. They recover over the next hour, hour and a half, and they head home on crutches. It makes for a very short stay at the surgery center and once they get home they’re generally fairly comfortable.
Usually after a couple of days, patients that have had arthroscopic knee surgery are putting weight on the leg, starting to bend it, and are returning to more normal activities. This is a great advance forward from what we used to do; where we would place people in casts, immobilize them, and have them keep the weight off the leg for many weeks.
The Everett Clinic is Snohomish County’s premier health care provider, with over 275 physicians. Specialty-trained physicians at the Everett Clinic practice in over 40 areas of expertise. Many are fellowship trained in advanced disciplines such as laparoscopic surgery, urological oncology, total joint replacement and more.
The Everett Clinic has many locations throughout Snohomish County, including Starwood, Marysville, Lake Stevens, Mill Creek and, of course, Everett. The Everett Clinic has four pharmacies, an advanced imagining center (offering MRI, CT, ultrasound and more), two outpatient surgery centers, vision and hearing aid centers and much more.
Tags: Arthroscopic Knee Surgery, Brian Hallgarth, Everett Clinic, Surgery
