Minimally invasive total hip arthroplasty

With a growing interest from patients and physicians in minimally invasive total hip replacements, further investigation is needed to truly outline the risks and benefits. While most surgeons performing minimally invasive or minimal incision total hip arthroplasty agree that the patient's recovery is faster, opponents claim that there is a higher complication rate with steep learning curves for these technically demanding procedures. The evolution of modern implants includes bone preserving hip resurfacing and large head metal-on-metal hip prostheses, that continue to influence surgical techniques. Minimally invasive surgery will likely trend towards accelerated rehabilitation programs, multimodal postoperative pain control and bone sparing procedures as compared to procedures with just smaller skin incisions.