Arthroscopic surgery performed under local anesthesia as an outpatient procedure.

In a period of 36 months, 875 patients underwent arthroscopy under local anesthesia as an outpatient procedure; 523 of these underwent arthroscopic surgery. The patients left the hospital within 1 h of completion of surgery. There were only a few complications. This is shown to be a safe and reliable method, which not only decreases morbidity but also lowers hospital and patient costs. The results obtained compare favorably with those published on arthroscopic surgery performed under general anesthesia.