A multi-speciality quaternary care hospital has performed an ankle ligament repair using the latest and most advanced needle arthroscopy system - "The Nanoscope" from Germany.

This is the first of its kind procedure performed on a young sports enthusiast who had an ankle ligament tear. This novel scarless procedure led by Senior Arthroscopy Surgeon & Sports Medicine Specialist Dr Rufus Vasanth Raj was performed in less than one hour, and the patient was discharged on the same day.

The patient, a badminton enthusiast from Chennai, sustained a twisting injury (forced inversion of the foot in plantar flexion) following a fall from the stairs at his workplace in the last week of April 2022. He was rushed into the hospital's ER Unit where his condition was diagnosed as an ankle ligament sprain.

The Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine Team headed by Dr Rufus Vasanth Raj clinically examined him and diagnosed a complete tear of the Anterior Talofibular Ligament (ATFL), which was confirmed by an MRI scan. The patient had Grade 3 tears (Complete tears) in the ankle joint with difficulty in weight-bearing resulting in permanent disability with chances of future arthritis.

The doctors decided to use the Nanoscope, the next generation needle arthroscopy for the patient as the general conventional Arthroscopy system has a 4mm or 2.7mm scope, which is difficult to access such a small joint surrounded by tendons, blood vessels and nerves making the surgical intervention very complicated.

The patient was anaesthetized, and the doctors began the next generation of needle arthroscopy which has a 1.9mm scope with a chip-on-tip image sensor technology through which 2 to 3 small pinholes with no blood loss were made in the patient's ankle which allowed easy access to enter small joints like ankle and the torn ligament was repaired by the doctors which allowed the patient to get discharged on the same day with a speedy recovery overall.

Dr Rufus Vasanth Raj, Head of Arthroscopy & Sports Medicine of the hospital said, "The Nanoscopy system is the future of Arthroscopy, and it is a minimally invasive, scarless surgery with no need for sutures and it allows the surgeon to enter all the joints with ease and perform procedures. It might replace the need for MRI scans in future, as Nanoscopy, being a 1.9mm needle system, allows to perform diagnostic Arthroscopy under local anaesthesia in the outpatient department. It can also aid in Stem Cell Therapy which can be simultaneously visualised by both the doctor and the patient."

"We've always been forthcoming in adapting and enabling any advancement in healthcare tech, as we definitely see the value it can aid to patient recovery. This Nanoscope is one such tech. In the days to come, many procedures can be made as daycare procedures making it less stressful for patients and also getting them to return to their homes the same day. That really aids quicker recovery," said Dr IlankumaranKaliamoorthy, CEO of the hospital.