A wrist keyhole surgery is a form of arthroscopy in which a surgeon uses a small camera (arthroscope) to look inside and examine the wrist.
The most common reason for having a wrist arthroscopy is to allow the surgeon to investigate the cause of your wrist complaint further. Occasionally, the cause of your wrist complaint can be treated at the same time with the help of a wrist arthroscope. The surgeon will discuss this with you in more detail.
A wrist arthroscopy can normally be performed as a day case procedure in theatre. A general anaesthetic or regional anaesthetic (block) is required.
During the surgery, two or three small incisions are made on the back of the wrist through which the surgeon passes the arthroscope into the wrist. The surgeon then examines the inside of the wrist on a television screen.
The risks of having a wrist arthroscopy are very small but they include infection, bleeding, nerve injury and tendon injury. The surgeon will discuss these with you. There may be some stiffness in your wrist after surgery. Your surgeon may organise some physiotherapy for you