I am thinking about having arthroscopic surgery on my knee for a meniscus cartilage tear. Could you explain why several incisions are made instead of one and what the locations would be?

Arthroscopic surgery typically requires three incisions. Each incision is about 1/4-inch in size. These small incisions are called portal incisions, as in a point of entry. One portal incision is made just above the patella or knee cap on either the medial (inner) or lateral (outer) edge of the quadriceps tendon. This portal is used to pass fluid into the knee joint. The fluid is needed to distend the knee joint capsule to allow the surgeon to maneuver instruments and to better visualize the contents of the knee. Two more portal incisions are made in front of the knee. Each portal incision is used to insert the arthroscope. The other front portal is used to pass instruments into the knee to perform the surgery on the meniscus cartilage.