Successful operations result from the interplay of several factors. The artfulness and technical skill of the surgeon are paramount. The instruments are also important. Whereas in traditional surgery one instrument can often be substituted for another with equally good results, arthroscopic surgery offers no such luxury. The specialized instruments are the sine qua non of the procedure. An intimate knowledge of the instruments and their uses and abuses comes together in an arthroscopic procedure to produce the end result: a successfully completed arthroscopy.