Abstract
It has been suggested that smaller skin incisions may be associated with a better short-term outcome after total hip replacement, including a more rapid rehabilitation. The definition of mini-incision is still unclear as publications with incisions ranging from five to 20 cms appear in the literature. We therefore prospectively studied 42 consecutive patients who had undergone 44 total hip replacements using a posterolateral approach, through skin incisions of between 10 and 21 cm. The patients were assessed for their speed of post-operative rehabilitation and their length of hospital stay. Age, body mass index, length of incision, duration of procedure, muscles detached and repaired, and blood loss were also recorded. We found no evidence of a correlation between incision size and blood loss, post-operative rehabilitation, or the length of hospital stay. Similarly, the degree of surgical muscle trauma showed no evidence of a correlation with the speed of post-operative rehabilitation or the length of hospital stay. In contrast, the age of the patient did significantly correlate with the length of hospital stay and rehabilitation scores. Our study showed no evidence that the size of the incision, or the muscles detached or repaired at surgery, influenced the immediate post-operative rehabilitation after total hip replacement performed through a posterior approach. Only the patient’s age showed a correlation with the speed of rehabilitation.
Theses abstracts were prepared by Professor Roger Lemaire. Correspondence should be addressed to EFORT Central Office, Freihofstrasse 22, CH-8700 Küsnacht, Switzerland.
