Incision length correlates with patient weight, height, and gender when using a minimal-incision technique in total hip arthroplasty.
Minimal-incision technique in total hip arthroplasty (THA) has been previously defined as requiring an incision of 10 cm or less. A higher complication rate for overweight or muscular patients has been demonstrated when this arbitrary cutoff is used. The purpose of this study was to perform minimal-incision technique surgery without a specific incision length cutoff on a cohort of nonselected, consecutive THA patients to determine if patient height, weight, body mass index, gender, type of femoral fixation, and/or age correlated with incision length. A total of 115 patients underwent THA (posterior approach) using minimal-incision technique by a single, experienced surgeon who performed the smallest incision that was feasible. There was a significant correlation between incision size and patient weight (p < .0001)), height (p = .007), and gender (p = .04). Complications included one patient each with postoperative instability, an intraoperative calcar fracture, and an intraoperative distal incision skin tear. These findings demonstrate that larger patients can expect a longer incision with this technique, and that for a given weight, women will have longer incisions than men. Selecting appropriate incision length for minimally invasive THA reduces potential associated complications.
Orthopaedic Associates of Portland, 33 Sewall Street, Portland, ME 04104, USA. mjri@yahoo.com
Brian J
BJ
McGrory
Morgan E
ME
Finch
Patrick J
PJ
Furlong
James
J
Ruterbories
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000379:methods*; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015207:Osteoarthritis, Hip / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome