MINIMALLY INVASIVE KNEE REPLACEMENT
- Minimally invasive knee replacement surgery has gained popularity over the last several years.
- Traditional knee replacement involved a skin incision often 8 inches long or more. Muscle was cut and tissue was twisted out of the way to maximize exposure.
- Minimally invasive approaches to the knee reduce the size of the incision by 30%-40%. Surgery still involves cutting of the muscle and retraction of soft tissues, but this is done in a fashion that minimizes trauma and can shorten recovery time.
- Minimally invasive procedures may not be appropriate for all patients.
Patients with severe deformity of the knee may require more extensive exposure for optimal treatment.
- Revision replacement surgery usually requires a more extensive exposure.
- Patients with a large amount of soft tissue over the knee may need a longer incision to allow for complete visualization of the joint.
- While many procedures can be done with arthroscopy, there is currently no way to perform arthroscopic knee replacement surgery. There is currently no procedure that can give you a knee replacement with lasers or without the use of an incision.
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