What are the risks or downsides of less invasive, or small incision joint replacement?
What are the risks or downsides of less invasive, or small incision joint replacement?
It is widely accepted that less invasive approaches to joint replacement are more difficult to perform correctly than standard approaches to hip and knee replacement. It is important to select a surgeon with appropriate training and experience performing these procedures. Specific modifications to surgical instrumentation and technique must be made to safely and reproducible perform a less invasive approach. Simply making a shorter incision without significant adaptations can result in poor surgical results and severe complications. Without appropriate surgical exposure or visualization, errors in alignment and sizing of components, damage to nerves and arteries, and poor soft tissue balancing can compromise the end result for the patient. It is important to talk to your surgeon about their training and experience performing minimally invasive procedures.