5-813.b:

The capsular ligaments in your knee joint have been sutured.

The knee joint connects the thigh to the lower leg. The knee joint is made up of 3 bones. These bones are the thighbone (femur), the shinbone (tibia) and the kneecap. The kneecap sits in a groove at the front of the thighbone. Certain ligaments stabilize the knee joint. The collateral ligaments sit to the right and left of the knee. There is a medial and a lateral collateral ligament. The collateral ligaments stop the knee from shifting sideways or over-stretching. Joints are encased in a joint capsule. The ligaments in the knee and the joint capsule grow together to form a single unit. Together they are known as the capsular ligaments.

You have had your capsular ligaments sutured at the side of your knee that faces away from your other leg. This area of the capsular ligaments includes the lateral collateral ligament. Suturing the capsular ligaments involves reattaching the torn parts to one another. The capsular ligaments may also have torn away from their anchor point in the bone. If the capsular ligaments have torn away there, they are reattached to the bone.

You had an arthroscopy to suture your capsular ligaments. An arthroscopy first involves making a small incision in the skin. A camera was pushed through this incision. This camera sends images of the inside of the joint to a screen. Instruments such as forceps and scissors can be inserted into the joint through other small incisions.