Minimally Invasive Knee Replacement
Surgeons and the developers of knee implants have begun to market an alternative to standard knee replacement surgery that has been termed "Minimally Invasive Surgery" or "MIS" Knee Replacement. This should really be termed "Less Invasive" since a significant (although reduced) incision is still required, the entire joint and bones are still exposed and "standard" implants are still used. What makes it less invasive is the exposure that the surgeon chooses to work with. Often this means less visibility for the surgeon and a more difficult procedure.
The possible benefits to the patient are:
- The potential for less scaring
- Possibly more rapid recovery since the surrounding muscles and tissue are left more intact.
However, this procedure can be quite challenging for the surgeon that is less experienced or new to this type of operation. The surgeon must rely on landmarks which are less visible and must use smaller instrumentation to position and align the implant components. This is important to note because malalignment of implants is one of the key short-term failure mechanisms in Total Knee Replacement (although newer designs are more "forgiving" than older versions).
For more information on Minimally Invasive Knee Replacement , you can visit some of the company sponsored sites.
Stryker:
http://www.miknee.com
Computer Assisted Knee Surgery
Some surgeons have begun to utilize Computer Assisted Surgery to aid them in performing less invasive procedures or to produce more accurate and repeatable results in a "standard" procedure. Here, a computer is used along with motion tracking devices to track the position of the knee joint and help align the implants.
This technology is fairly new. It is safe to say that a very small percentage of surgeons practice computer assisted knee surgery, but numbers are increasing. Whether use of the computer significantly improves the long term performance of implants has yet to be determined
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