Modern surgical techniques are often refined to develop new ways to accomplish the goals of surgery while minimizing the side effects. A knee replacement is performed to replace the worn-out cartilage from the knee joint with a metal and plastic implant. Minimally-invasive knee replacements use the same implants as a standard knee replacement, but these implants are put in through a smaller incision.
Benefits
Advocates of minimally invasive knee replacements will claim they are accomplishing the same surgical procedure with fewer side effects. Anytime a treatment can have fewer side-effects, it is seemingly an improvement. The hope with minimal-incision knee replacement is that patients will experience:
Less painFaster recoveryLess need for blood transfusionLess scar tissue formation
Is There a Downside?
We’re not 100% sure quite yet, and that is the concern many orthopedic surgeons have about minimal-incision surgery. It has to be remembered that while the aforementioned benefits of minimal-incision surgery are terrific, the most important goal of a knee replacement surgery is to provide the patient with a pain-free joint that will last a long time. The concern with performing a knee replacement through a smaller incision is that the implants may not be placed as precisely and as snug, and could, therefore, wear out more quickly.
A recent study found that patients requiring a second surgery (revision knee replacement) had this procedure much sooner when they had minimal-incision surgery. Patients who required the revision surgery after minimal-incision knee replacement had their revision on average 15 months after their initial procedure. This compares to an average of 80 months after traditional knee replacements. That is a very striking difference.
A Word From Verywell
Just because we’re pointing out one study that demonstrates a problem, it does not mean that minimal-incision knee replacement is a bad surgery. It simply raises a concern. There have been studies pointing out the benefits mentioned above as well. One concern with these studies showing positive results from minimal-incision surgery is that some were authored by surgeons with potential financial conflicts of interest, as well as by surgeons who are performing hundreds of these procedures, rather than just a few.
Recent studies are validating the concerns many surgeons had about the performed knee replacement through a “mini” incision. If you are having a minimal-incision knee replacement, be sure your surgeon has performed this procedure many times, and understand that there may be a higher chance of requiring additional surgery at an earlier time down the road. Experienced surgeons will also be ready to make an incision larger if it means doing a better surgery, not compromising the outcome for the goal of keeping the incisions smaller.
