While growing in popularity, minimally invasive joint replacements are "raising concerns about potential complications," reports the Wall Street Journal, citing several surgeons and "some preliminary studies."
The promise of a speedier and less painful recovery has made minimally invasive surgery a popular alternative to traditional hip and knee replacements. It now accounts for about half the joint replacements performed in the United States, according to the Journal.
However, the paper notes that the difficulty of performing minimally invasive surgery and the technique’s rapid rise in popularity have led some experts to question whether it may carry a greater risk of complications than traditional joint replacement. Some complications patients have suffered include uneven joints and leg lengths, broken hip bones and knee pain.
The article cites small, short-term studies that seem to support the notion that minimally invasive hip and knee replacements pose a greater risk than traditional surgery. A recent Stanford University study slated to be published in the Journal of Arthroplasty found a 9 percent rate of "major complications" associated with minimally invasive hip replacements. Steven T. Woolson, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Stanford, told the Journal, "There aren’t any [long-term] studies out showing the percentage of bad cases, but there should be."
Orthopedic surgeon Richard Berger, MD, who’s also a consultant for surgical equipment manufacturer Zimmer Holdings, predicts that once the technique becomes more established and surgeons gain more experience working with small incisions, "we’ll see a decrease in the complication rate." Some surgeons recommend that patients agree to the minimally invasive option only if their surgeons have 25 or more procedures under their belt.
—Irene Tsikitas
