An unusual use for the arthroscope

In recent years, arthroscopy has gained importance in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with a painful knee (Ireland et al., 1980; Dandy, 1981). An important application of the arthroscope is in the removal of loose bodies from the knee, and endoscopy has also proved to be more accurate in diagnosis than more conventional methods (Dandy and O'Carroll, 1982). The identification and removal of foreign bodies from soft tissues and joints can be difficult. In addition to conventional radiography, other more specialized techniques including stereotaxis (McFadden, 1972) have been applied to this condition. We report 2 cases in which arthroscopy proved to be invaluable in the location and removal of a foreign body from the soft tissues around the knee.