Minimally Invasive Lateral Approach to Quadriceps-Sparing Total Knee Arthroplasty

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been an established and continually refined procedure for many years. Recently, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques have been applied successfully to TKA. In this work, we offer an additional improvement to the MIS procedures and components: quadriceps-sparing total knee arthroplasty (QS TKA). By avoiding injury to the quadriceps muscle groups, the patient's ability to recruit quadriceps function postoperatively is improved, encouraging early ambulation, motor control of knee extension and patellar tracking, and fewer adhesions. We present the following: the benefits of QS TKA, a comparison of the lateral versus medial approach, a description of the lateral approach for QS TKA, and a discussion of new prosthesis designs to accommodate QS TKA. Results from 33 surgeries are discussed, and suggestions for further refinement of the QS TKA are offered. (C) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.