Arthroscopy & Sports Medicine Specialist — Peshawar
Arthroscopic Surgery in Peshawar
Most joint problems that once required large open incisions, long hospital stays, and months of recovery can now be treated through two or three cuts smaller than a fingernail. At OAIC, keyhole surgery is performed by Dr Muhammad Inam, who completed a dedicated Fellowship in Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Orthobiologics in Greece — one of the very few specialists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with formal subspecialty training in arthroscopic technique.
Arthroscopy is simultaneously the most underused and the most appropriately overused joint procedure in Peshawar. Patients with meniscal tears, loose bodies, synovitis, and repairable cartilage damage frequently wait years for a diagnosis — or never receive one. At the same time, arthroscopy is occasionally offered when it will not change the outcome. At OAIC, it is recommended only when the clinical and imaging evidence shows it will genuinely resolve what cannot be addressed any other way — and not before.
🔍 Arthroscopy may be right for you if:
- Knee, shoulder, or ankle pain not responding to physiotherapy or medication
- Suspected meniscal tear, ligament injury, or cartilage damage
- Chronic joint swelling with no clear diagnosis on X-ray
- Previous injury that was never properly investigated
- MRI shows a problem that needs surgical treatment
- You want the fastest possible return to sport, work, or daily activity
4-5mm
Same-day
3
25+
The procedure, plainly explained
What is arthroscopic surgery — and what isn't it?
Arthroscopy — from the Greek arthron (joint) and skopein (to look) — uses a small camera, the arthroscope, inserted through a tiny incision typically 4–5mm long. It transmits a magnified, high-definition image of the joint interior onto a monitor, showing cartilage, ligaments, menisci, and joint lining in detail that no imaging study — not even MRI — can fully replicate. In most cases, treatment is performed in the same sitting through one or two additional small portal incisions, using shavers, graspers, suture passers, anchors, and radiofrequency probes to repair, remove, or reconstruct what the camera finds.
The advantages over open joint surgery are substantial: less trauma to surrounding tissue, significantly reduced post-operative pain, lower infection risk, a shorter hospital stay — often same-day discharge — and a faster return to function.
What arthroscopic surgery is not
A point Dr Inam makes clearly to every patient referred for arthroscopy: the camera is not a treatment in itself. It diagnoses by direct visualisation and treats by the instruments passed alongside it. If the pathology found cannot be meaningfully addressed by those instruments — advanced bone-on-bone osteoarthritis being the most common example — the procedure will confirm the severity of the problem but will not fix it. Patients with grade 4 osteoarthritis who undergo arthroscopy hoping to avoid knee replacement almost universally see no lasting benefit from washout and debridement alone. At OAIC, patients with advanced osteoarthritis are told this directly, rather than offered a procedure that won’t help.
Joints treated arthroscopically at OAIC
Knee, shoulder, and ankle — treated by keyhole technique
Most common
Knee Arthroscopy
Meniscal surgery
The most common arthroscopic knee procedure at OAIC. Torn menisci are repaired when the tear pattern allows, or partially removed when repair isn’t viable — preserving as much tissue as possible, since meniscal loss accelerates knee osteoarthritis.
ACL reconstruction
Performed entirely arthroscopically — replacing the torn anterior cruciate ligament with a tendon graft, with simultaneous assessment and treatment of any associated meniscal or cartilage injury.
Loose body removal
Fragments of cartilage or bone floating freely in the joint cause unpredictable locking and sharp pain. Arthroscopic retrieval gives immediate relief of mechanical symptoms.
Synovectomy
Removal of inflamed joint lining in rheumatoid arthritis, PVNS, or recurrent inflammation unresponsive to medication — reducing both pain and inflammatory load on the cartilage.
Chondral (cartilage) procedures & patellofemoral treatment
Microfracture, chondroplasty, and PRP-augmented cartilage care for damage that stops short of bone-on-bone contact; lateral retinacula release for refractory patellar malt racking.
Second most common
Shoulder Arthroscopy
Rotator cuff repair
Reattaches torn tendon to bone with small anchors and sutures — without the large incision and muscle splitting of open repair. Full healing takes 4–6 months, but the functional result in selected patients exceeds what open surgery achieves with less tissue trauma.
Bankart repair for shoulder instability
Reattaches a torn anterior labrum to the socket rim, restoring the shoulder’s primary stabilising mechanism after recurrent dislocation — common in young active patients across KPK. Return to contact sport is expected at 4–6 months.
Sub acromial decompression
Relieves shoulder impingement by removing the bony spur and inflamed bursa pinching the rotator cuff — one of the most common, and most frequently misattributed, causes of shoulder pain over 40.
AC joint procedures
Addresses acromioclavicular separations from falls and AC joint arthritis causing pain at the top of the shoulder, in selected cases.
Often undertreated in KPK
Ankle Arthroscopy
Anterior ankle impingement
Scar tissue or bony spurs caught at the front of the joint cause pain on bending the foot upward — extremely common given habitual squatting and floor-level activity, and often mistaken for a chronic sprain. Most patients return to full function within 6–8 weeks.
Osteochondral lesions of the talus
Cartilage and bone damage on the ankle’s dome, usually from a sprain or fracture, treated with arthroscopic microfracture or debridement, often combined with PRP.
Loose body removal & synovitis
Mechanical fragments and chronic inflammation from reactive or inflammatory arthritis, resolved arthroscopically when medication alone hasn’t controlled it.
The fundamental distinction
Arthroscopy vs. open surgery — why keyhole wins for the right conditions
Factor
Arthroscopy
Open surgery
Hospital stay
Hospital stay
Blood loss
Minimal — joint distended with irrigation fluid
Typically 3–5 days
🔬Certificate in Rheumatology — AACME USA
One of the few orthopaedic specialists in Peshawar with formal rheumatology training. Inflammatory and autoimmune joint conditions are managed within the same practice — no referral chains.
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FCPS · FRCS UK · FACS
Full surgical capability from earliest-stage management through complex operative intervention — held to the standard of three international surgical colleges simultaneously.
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Diagnostic rigour
History and physical examination come first. Investigations confirm a clinical suspicion — they don’t generate a diagnosis from a set of numbers alone.
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The full treatment spectrum, one roof
DMARD prescribing, joint injections, PRP, arthroscopic surgery, and joint replacement — all available at OAIC. No referral to four specialists across four hospitals.
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Local understanding of KPK patterns
Dietary contributors to gout, widespread steroid use causing AVN, habitual postures accelerating cartilage wear — 25+ years of practice built with this context, not a generic textbook.
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Honest, staged guidance
Patients are told plainly which stage of treatment is right for them — medication, physiotherapy, injection, or surgery — never pushed toward the most invasive option first.
Visit OAIC
Clinic locations & hours
Akbar Medical Centre
Haleem Medical Centre
Lady Reading Hospital MTI
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the best joint pain specialist in Peshawar?
Dr Muhammad Inam Khan at OAIC is one of Peshawar’s most experienced fracture and trauma specialists. He holds FCPS, FRCS UK, and MRCS from Edinburgh, and spent four years as Senior Registrar at Hayatabad Medical Complex managing high-volume orthopaedic trauma. He sees patients at Akbar Medical Centre, Peshawar, Monday to Friday from 4:00 PM.
What is the most common cause of joint pain in Pakistan?
Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of chronic joint pain in adults over 50 in Pakistan, particularly knee osteoarthritis accelerated by habitual squatting and floor-level activity. In younger patients, rheumatoid arthritis and gout are the most commonly missed diagnoses. Septic arthritis, though less common, is the most urgent cause and must be excluded in any hot, acutely swollen joint.
Can joint pain be treated without surgery in Peshawar?
Yes — most joint pain patients are managed successfully without surgery. Physiotherapy, weight management, medication, and joint injections resolve or adequately control most conditions. Surgery is reserved for structural damage that cannot be managed conservatively, and only after appropriate non-surgical options have been tried.
How do I know if my joint pain is arthritis or something else?
“Arthritis” covers more than 100 different conditions. The key question is whether pain is mechanical (worse with activity, better with rest, stiffness under 30 minutes) or inflammatory (present at rest, worse in the morning, stiffness over an hour, sometimes with systemic symptoms). Blood tests and imaging help confirm the type, but clinical history and examination by an experienced specialist is where the process genuinely begins.
Is joint pain in fingers and hands serious?
Small joint pain in the hands and fingers warrants assessment, particularly if symmetrical, associated with morning stiffness, or with swollen knuckles — classic early features of rheumatoid arthritis, a progressive disease causing permanent erosion if untreated. Many patients in KPK dismiss this as “uric acid” or ageing and arrive years later with established deformity that could have been prevented
What's the difference between joint pain from uric acid and rheumatoid arthritis?
Gout typically affects one joint at a time — most often the big toe, ankle, or knee — with sudden, intense attacks resolving completely between episodes. Rheumatoid arthritis typically affects multiple joints symmetrically, especially the knuckles, wrists, and small joints of the hands and feet, with persistent pain that doesn’t fully resolve. Blood tests help distinguish them, but the clinical pattern is the most important guide — the two conditions occasionally coexist.
Can physiotherapy alone treat joint pain?
Physiotherapy is an active, evidence-based treatment. For mechanical joint pain, particularly early osteoarthritis and post-injury rehabilitation, a structured programme produces measurable improvements in pain and function — though it doesn’t reverse cartilage damage. For inflammatory joint pain, physiotherapy complements medication but cannot replace disease-modifying treatment.
When should I see a specialist instead of my GP for joint pain?
Seek specialist review if pain has lasted more than 6 weeks without clear cause or improvement; you have swelling in multiple joints; morning stiffness lasts over 30 minutes; you’re taking daily pain medication without a confirmed diagnosis; pain is worsening despite treatment; or there’s any suspicion of an acutely infected joint. Earlier specialist review at OAIC avoids months or years of incorrect treatment
Joint Pain in Peshawar? Get an Accurate Diagnosis Before More Time Is Lost.
The right treatment depends entirely on identifying the correct cause. Every month of incorrectly managed inflammatory arthritis is joint damage that cannot be reversed.