Minimally Invasive Surgery
Over the past 25 years, minimally invasive surgery has revolutionized
many fields of medicine. Its key characteristic is that it uses specialized
techniques and instrumentation that enable the physician to perform
major surgery without a large incision. In this respect, MIS Knee Joint
Replacement is indeed “minimally invasive”, requiring only
a small incision
and causing minimal trauma to the soft-tissues. Minimally invasive
surgical techniques may offer benefits including: less pain, less recovery
time, and less scarring. |
MIS Total Knee Replacement (TKR)
Unlike conventional TKR—which requires a large incision (8 to 12
inches)
and significant disruption of the muscles and tendons—MIS Knee
Joint Replacement is performed through a 3 to 4 inch incision. The
amount of soft tissue (muscles and tendons, etc) that is disrupted during
surgery may also be reduced. Through that same small incision, the diseased
surfaces of the knee joint are exposed and then replaced, one at a
time, with the artificial joint components. |
MIS Partial Knee Replacement (PKR)
Partial Knee Replacement (PKR) is a minimally invasive procedure for
relieving arthritic knee pain and disability. During the operation, the
damaged compartment of the knee joint is replaced with metal and
plastic implants. With PKR, only the damaged surface of the knee joint
is replaced, minimizing trauma to healthy bone and tissue. PKR
implants, like the EIUS™ Unicondylar Knee System from Stryker®
Orthopaedics, were developed with patient needs in mind. The implant
is anatomically shaped and enables surgeons to use the latest minimally
invasive surgical techniques for this procedure. Because the PKR
implants are so much smaller than total knee implants, the surgical incision
can be significantly smaller as well. |
