Minimally Invasive Total Knee Surgery

A surgical technique that keeps the incision size to a minimum while aiming for accurate placement in total knee replacement.

Nearly 500,000 people will need a total knee replacement every year. The way their surgeon operates can determine if the new knee lasts for a long time and if patients recover quickly. 

As described in our information about computer-assisted knee surgery, the conventional way of performing total knee surgery involves a larger open incision over the knee joint with long rods inserted up the femur. The “old way” can lead to more blood loss and a longer incision, and can be less accurate.

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for total knee replacement was developed to decrease pain, scarring, blood loss, and time of recovery. With MIS, the incision is about 4.5 inches (compared to 10-12 inches for traditional knee surgery). Special alignment jigs and cutting guides give the surgeon an accurate read on where to make the cuts in the bone though the smaller incision. Additionally, the surgeon uses muscle-splitting techniques to protect the quadriceps to speed recovery.

The downside to minimally invasive surgery (MIS)

A disadvantage of MIS is that surgeons may have a harder time seeing the knee joint because of the smaller incision. Therefore, it may be easier to make a mistake in the alignment of the prosthesis. A prosthesis put in incorrectly — in other words, the femoral component does not exactly match the tibial component — will result in problems gaining a full range of motion in the future. The prosthesis may also wear out much more quickly.  

Many surgeons therefore opt to not perform minimally invasive knee surgeries, as conventional total knee surgery is still quite accurate, and generally regarded as a gold standard for today’s surgeons.   

The surgeons at Orthopedics International have been at the forefront of developing minimally invasive and computer assisted surgical techniques. We maintain a surgical philosophy that we will only make an incision large enough for us to accurately implant a total knee prosthesis. Contact Orthopedics International to discuss the pros and cons of minimally invasive total knee surgery (MIS) with you.