History of foot and ankle arthroscopy

Abstract

Historically, arthroscopy originated from the concept of cystoscopy, and was limited to use in the large joints, principally the knee. It is only the past 50 years that has led to the techniques being applied to the small joints of the foot and ankle, and the success has mirrored the development of better lens systems and smaller instruments. Although Watanabe pioneered arthroscopy as a whole, and initiated foot-and-ankle arthroscopy, it was the fine tuning of techniques for the ankle and subtalar joints by pioneers such as Van Dijk in Europe and Ferkel in USA, who combined their innovative techniques along with extensive teaching worldwide that lead to its acceptance in the current form. Although limited in scale, arthroscopy of the foot and ankle is currently practiced in many centers in India, with trained surgeons applying latest techniques at a few centers. The current status of arthroscopy is that it has allowed minimally invasive surgery in smaller and smaller joints, with a huge potential for expansion in the future.