What is...

... Synovitis?

Synovitis in the most common case of pain and swelling in the knee. The synovial cells line the inside of the knee joint and make the lubrication fluid (synovial fluid) for the knee - which functions as a living biologic transmission. The synovium is the thin tissue that is made up of these synovial cell. This tissue is at a very high population just behind the patella (knee cap) and happens to be full of sensory nerves. This tissue is easily pinched with activities that load the patellofemoral joint such as climbing up or down stairs, hills, or incline, and with getting in and out of a chair, squatting or kneeling. This is just like biting the inside of one's cheek. It can cause sharp (and dull) pain and can persist because the previously thin tissue swells and more cells are replicated leading to a situation of increased vulnerability of these newly swollen tissues to re-impingement along with the symptoms of continued pain and swelling.


a Synovectomy?

The synovectomy procedure is designed to carefully remove the abnormally swollen and inflamed tissue from the inside of the knee joint. When this is done, it leaves a "raw" surface inside the knee that must re-populate with new cells that will hopefully be less painful and eventually allow greater knee function (i.e. an expansion of the Envelope of Function).