Yu-Chi Cheng1,2,3, Po-Kuei Wu2,4,5,6, Cheng-Fong Chen2,4,5, Chao-Ming Chen4,5,6, Shang-Wen Tsai4,5,6, Ming-Chau Chang2,4,5,6, Wei-Ming Chen2,4,5,6. 1. Department of Radiology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC. 2. Orthopaedic Department School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. 3. Department of Radiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. 4. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. 5. Department of Orthopaedics, Therapeutical and Research Center of Musculoskeletal Tumor, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. 6. Institute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: To evaluate a single surgeon's experience with minimally invasive total knee arthroplasty (MIS-TKA) and report the 9-year learning curve and trends in clinical outcomes based on assessment of surgical skills, radiographic alignments, and patient's function scores. METHODS: This retrospective study included a total of 4107 knees from 3403 patients undergoing bilateral or unilateral MIS-TKA between March 2004 and February 2013. MIS-TKA was performed through a modified mini-midvastus approach. Postsurgical care regime was standardized for all patients. Data of consecutive 3-month intervals were collected and compared for changes of trends in outcomes over time, including tourniquet time, intraoperative complications, radiographic alignment, the Knee Society Score (KSS), and functional scores. RESULTS: Significant increase in the number of cases undergoing MIS-TKA per 3-month interval over the study period was observed. As surgeon's experience increased over time, tourniquet time was decreased from an average of 70 minutes to approximately 35 minutes. A total of 65 (1.68%) intraoperative complications were recorded and the frequencies were in a significant decreasing trend. The rate of malalignment was in a decreasing trend and steady desired alignment (6°) was achieved at the 15th three-month interval. KSS and function scores increased from 87.4 to 91.5 and 92.6 to 96.8, respectively. CONCLUSION: Although a surgeon may become competent with MIS-TKA and achieved the preliminary learning curve within one year, experience accumulation continuously improved technical proficiency in MIS-TKA. This study confirmed significant improvements in surgical skills, postoperative alignment, and patients' function over time.
BACKGROUND: To evaluate a single surgeon's experience with minimally invasive total knee arthroplasty (MIS-TKA) and report the 9-year learning curve and trends in clinical outcomes based on assessment of surgical skills, radiographic alignments, and patient's function scores. METHODS: This retrospective study included a total of 4107 knees from 3403 patients undergoing bilateral or unilateral MIS-TKA between March 2004 and February 2013. MIS-TKA was performed through a modified mini-midvastus approach. Postsurgical care regime was standardized for all patients. Data of consecutive 3-month intervals were collected and compared for changes of trends in outcomes over time, including tourniquet time, intraoperative complications, radiographic alignment, the Knee Society Score (KSS), and functional scores. RESULTS: Significant increase in the number of cases undergoing MIS-TKA per 3-month interval over the study period was observed. As surgeon's experience increased over time, tourniquet time was decreased from an average of 70 minutes to approximately 35 minutes. A total of 65 (1.68%) intraoperative complications were recorded and the frequencies were in a significant decreasing trend. The rate of malalignment was in a decreasing trend and steady desired alignment (6°) was achieved at the 15th three-month interval. KSS and function scores increased from 87.4 to 91.5 and 92.6 to 96.8, respectively. CONCLUSION: Although a surgeon may become competent with MIS-TKA and achieved the preliminary learning curve within one year, experience accumulation continuously improved technical proficiency in MIS-TKA. This study confirmed significant improvements in surgical skills, postoperative alignment, and patients' function over time.