Page 84 - Clinical Manual of Small Animal Endosurgery

72 Clinical Manual of Small Animal Endosurgery

Fig. 3.7 Elbow arthroscopy. The locator needle is inserted to identify the
joint line.

Fig. 3.8 Elbow arthroscopy. The skin adjacent to locator needle is incised
prior to inserting the arthroscope sleeve with the obturator.

arthroscope tip. Attempts to puncture the joint too far cranially do not
enable the needle tip to reach the arthroscopic view while placement too
close to the scope results in too little working space to handle the arthro-
scopic instruments next to the scope. Once the joint space is located and
the needle is inserted the most common reason for failing to view the
needle tip is that the needle has been placed so as to cross the shaft of
the scope. Redirecting the needle more parallel to the scope normally
brings the needle into view. Redirection of the needle is more useful than
moving the scope, since the latter is already correctly positioned and the
former is not. Once triangulation is achieved, the instrument portal is
created by incising the skin as previously described and inserting a blunt