Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026
The Transition to an Anterior-Based Muscle Sparing Approach Improves Early Postoperative Function but is Associated with a Learning Curve
Published on: September 7, 2022
Differences in muscle trauma quantifiable in the laboratory between the minimally invasive anterolateral and
Doerte Matziolis1, Georgi Wassilew, Patrick Strube
1Orthopädische Klinik, Centrum für Muskuloskeletal Chirurgie, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Introduction:
In Europe the minimized transgluteal (TG) and anterolateral (AL) approaches are increasingly preferred in hip arthroplasty (THA).
Method:
The present investigation determined which of these approaches causes the least muscle trauma. Forty patients who received a THA were enrolled in this prospective randomized study. Muscle trauma was quantified by perioperatively measuring the serum concentration of skeletal troponin I (sTnI). The Harris hip score (HHS) was determined before and 12 months after surgery.
Results:
It increased significantly in all patients without being different between the groups (AL, 48.2→83.6; TG, 50.8→85.9). Patients in the TG group had a higher sTnI than those in the AL group 24 h postoperatively (21.6 vs. 10.9 nmol/ml, p = 0.022). The AL approach results in a reduced muscle traumatization compared with the TG approach, without this being revealed by the HHS.
