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Updated: May 23, 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
[Long-term analysis of minimally invasive surgery in knee arthroplasty]
D Pescador1, A A Moreno, J F Blanco
1Médico Traumatólogo y Cirujano Ortopédico, Servicio de Ortopedia y Traumatología, Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, Salamanca, España. pesc21@yahoo.es
Background:
Knee arthroplasty is the treatment of choice for gonarthrosis. The development of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) requires assessing results based on the classical approaches and this is the purpose of our study.
Methods:
Randomized, prospective study comparing two groups; one underwent MIS (45 patients) and the second one a classical approach (51 patients); both groups were comparable. The following variables were assessed in the immediate postoperative period and at 4 and 8 years: blood loss, pain according to the VAS, flexion and extension and quality of life measured with the SF-36.
Results:
In the immediate postoperative period we observed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in favor of the MIS approach in pain, hospital stay and blood loss. However, this was not observed at 4 and 8 years concerning pain, quality of life and range of motion. We observed an improvement in the functional scale and quality of life compared with the preoperative status, without any differences when both groups were compared.
Conclusions:
The MIS technique results in a better immediate postoperative period, but no differences were seen in the choice of the approach 4 and 8 years after surgery.
