Total knee arthroplasty is traditionally performed through an anterior access of approximately 20 cm, arthrotomy being made at the interval between the rectus femoris and the midvastus muscles. The access provides excellent joint exposure, but it does interfere with suprapatellar integrity, which could lead to adherences that impair earlier of knee flexion recovery. Several publications have concluded that surgeons are more pleased than their patients with the clinical and functional results of total knee arthroplasties. The use of a minimally invasive access may provide a shorter hospitalization period, decreased post-operative pain intensity thus reducing the time required for movement amplitude recovery and the return of function. The different techniques proposed to perform minimally invasive arthroplasties have been discussed, and conclusion is that the development of such a technique may be difficult and take time, but the benefits and patient satisfaction will offset such added effort. The changes require clinical studies to document their effectiveness, but the results already obtained, though with small series, show that there are clear benefits to be achieved with a minimally invasive subvastus access.
Knee; Arthroplasty, replacement, knee; Arthroplasty, replacement, knee; Surgical procedures, minimally invasive; Recovery of function
