Most MIS TKAs do not fail early
MIS TKRs performed through a mini midvastus approach are not predisposed to early failure.
By Richard S. Laskin, MD
ORTHOPEDICS TODAY 2008; 28:61
January 2008
It has been alleged that minimally invasive total knee replacements may tend to fail early. Our use of MIS techniques of the past 5 to 6 years does not substantiate this. When one reviews the literature as to why total knees in general may tend to fail early we find the basic causes to be infection, instability, malposition and stiffness. We have not found these problems in our MIS patients using a mini midvastus approach.
Our infection rate performing total knee replacement (TKR) surgery both through a MIS approach and through a standard median parapatellar approach has been the same, about 0.2%…
…In a study comparing patients having a median parapatellar incision with those having a mini midvastus MIS incision there was no difference in instability rates in either the sagittal or coronal planes…
…In our published study the patients who had a MIS TKA through a mini midvastus approach seemed to get their motion back faster than those who had had a standard median parapatellar incision…
…Putting all of this together, we did not discover any findings which would suggest that using that MIS TKRs performed through a mini midvastus approach would predispose to early failure. However, that is not the case with other MIS approaches.