Minimal Invasive

Joint Replacement

Minimal invasive joint replacement is an advanced technique used for total hip and knee replacements. This technique, originally developed in the United States several years ago, is now performed by orthopaedic surgeons all over the world. The advantages for the patient following this procedure have certainly been acknowledged by all!

But what is a minimal invasive joint replacement?

Regarding minimal invasive total hip replacements, Mr. Neuhaus is using his expierience of many years with the antero-lateral approach to the hip. This approach, a modified Harding approach, allows him to access the hip by a skin cut at the lateral side of the femur. By dividing the soft tissue beneath the skin it is possible to approach the hip. The skin cut would be about 10cm, but more important is the fact that the soft tissue damage done during this approach is minimized.

The total operating time is the same as for a standard total hip replacement, but the damage to the soft tissue surrounding the hip joint, which in the standard operation is rather excessive, is almost negligible in the minimal invasive technique. No muscles or tendons get cut and the few structures that need to be cut, like the joint capsule, are re-sutured again.

Although there are many new developments regarding surgical techniques or material, Mr. Neuhaus, as many of his colleagues, works and operates with the basic promise that the well being and the optimal outcome following an operation is the most important. To gain experience with surgical techniques, MR. Neuhaus travels to university hospitals in different towns in Spain. He even invites the specialized surgeon that he was visiting as a guest surgeon, to come down to Malaga and, literally, give him a hand whilst performing the operation (without any additional costs for the client)

Minimal invasive surgery, instrument table

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Minimal invasive surgery,

 x-ray during surgery

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There are several advantages when using the minimal invasive technique. The much smaller incision site, and thereby the minimal amount of soft tissue damage, significantly de-crease the amount of blood lost in this type of operation so that often no blood transfusion is needed after the operation.

The risk of infection in the operation wound (and the prosthesis) is much less, simply because of the smaller wound size, and it also means quicker wound healing.

Possibly the most important difference is the need for only two to three days hospital stay with the minimal invasive technique (compar-ed to 7 to 10 with a normal hip replace-ment). This not only decreases the risk of thrombosis or catching a hospital ‘bug’, but of course also significantly reduces the cost for the hospital stay (and therefore total cost).

·  The physiotherapist also has an easier job to mobilize the patient after this advanced technique. The patient would be allowed to get up the same day of the operation when rehabilitation begins and will then continue their physiotherapy as needed as an out-patient in Clinica SANDALF. Often the discomfort that can be caused by post-operative physiotherapy is less due to the smaller amount of soft tissue damage.

·  And finally, the chance of a dislocation of the joint following the minimal invasive procedure is very much reduced and even allows for a larger range of movement of the artificial joint than usually allowed following a standard hip replacement.

·  Return to normal daily activity is much quicker.

If the waiting list is too long for you at home and you would like to come to the Costa del Sol to have a total hip replacement done, we can arrange everything for you. This would include pick-up from the airport to take you to the hospital, pre-operative consul-tation, the operation itself including the prosthesis, hospital stay and physiotherapy, and then an apartment or hotel after leaving hospital while you continue your physiotherapy and prepare yourself to get back home. Return to your home country depends on your recovery, but is on average between 1 to 2 weeks

In case that you would not be covered financially for the opera-tion by a private insurance, Clinica SANDALF could offer you the option of financing the costs of the operation.!

Minimal invasive total hip replacement

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