Minimally invasive total hip arthroplasty in a Chinese population

From April 2003 to April 2004, the records of 24 patients who underwent primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) through an anterolateral mini-incision technique (MIS group) were reviewed. They were matched by diagnosis, gender, average age, and body-mass index to those with a traditional-incision technique (control group). The clinical significances in terms of operative time, blood loss pain level and length of stay were compared. Mean patient age in the MIS group (12 patients) was 56 years: 9 patients were women. Average body mass index was 24.6. mean operative time was 113 minutes. Average incision length was 8.4 cm for the initial incision. Fifty percent required extension of the incision length.