This report originally appeared in the July 2010 issue of DOTmed Business News

Arthroscopy is a specialty that along with bronchoscopy, cytoscopy, laparoscopy, and a number of others, falls under the umbrella of the larger endoscopy area of surgical expertise. It's also a specialty that falls under the radar of the very companies that should be pushing the equipment and benefitting from its popularity.

The key U.S. manufacturers of the equipment don't seem to give the marketing support to the specialty, focusing instead on endoscopy. Arthroscopy does use a type of endoscope to carry out procedures, but the reason there is arthroscopy, or any of the other aforementioned "scops" is that they each focus on a particular section or feature of the body. With arthroscopy being one of the more common of the specialties (more than half a million surgeries last year for example), it doesn't bode well for the support of the other specialties. In fact, most of the key OEMs weren't available for this story or declined to comment. More telling perhaps is the fact that one OEM spokesman couldn't identify who handled the company's arthroscopy division and at another, the spokeswoman didn't realize the company even had an arthroscopy division until directed to the link on its own website. In all cases though, the OEMs did say they dealt with endoscopy.

Sport support
But the specialty certainly has fans. And if you're a sports fan, you may be appreciative of the procedure. Both Alex Rodriguez and Tiger Woods have had arthroscopic surgery in the past. A-Rod had arthroscopic surgery on his right hip in early 2009, while Tiger made the decision to have the procedure done for a second time in 2008 to repair cartilage damage in his knee.

Both these big names chose arthroscopy because the minimal invasiveness of the procedure allowed them to literally get back into the swing of things in relatively short order. What might have taken months to recoup from using other techniques only took weeks using arthroscopy.

As with any surgery, there are risks. In this case, the risks run from blood clots being most common, to rarer problems such as vein artery or nerve damage. Still, complications are unlikely, with serious complications occurring in less than 1 percent of cases.

The safety of the procedure, the short recovery and a few other key factors will allow Arthroscopy to continue to cultivate a customer base. First, the U.S. has the largest group of soon-to-be seniors in its history with the last census showing nearly 13 percent of Americans were over the age of 65 and the recent census likely to show an increase in the number of seniors. Seniors mean knee and joint problems - arthroscopic specialties. Second, Americans are also heavier than ever with nearly two-thirds of Americans considered obese. Obesity means more stress to joints. Finally, health care reform may play a role.

More Industry Reports