The meta- analysis of the current evidence base showed that minimally invasive THA is associated with a significantly increased risk of transient lateral femoral cutaneous nerve palsy ( p = 0.006 ) with no significantly better outcome
Over the past decade , minimally invasive surgery has gained popularity as a means of optimising early postoperative rehabilitation and increasing patient satisfaction and cosmesis following  total hip arthroplasty ( THA ) .
However , this surgical exposure has also been associated with increased risk of iatrogenic nerve injury and implant mal-positioning due to limited visibility compared to conventionally larger surgical incisions .
The purpose of this meta- analysis was to compare the outcomes of these two surgical exposures .
Comparison of Scars from Total Hip Replacements Done with a Standard or a Mini-incision
Scar cosmesis is one of the proposed benefits of mini-incision total hip replacement as opposed to st and ard-incision procedures ; however , there has been no scientific proof of this clinical outcome . The cosmetic appearances of healed incisions of 34 primary total hip replacement procedures done by one surgeon using either a mini-incision ( 20 procedures ) or a st and ard-length incision ( 14 procedures ) were compared at an average of 2 years postoperatively . Each scar ’s appearance was grade d independently by two plastic surgeons using a st and ardized rating system . Patients answered a question naire regarding their subjective assessment of their scar . The blinded observers found that more mini-scars ( six of 20 ) were rated poor than st and ard scars ( one of 14 ) and that more st and ard-incision patients had scars that were rated good . More mini-incision patients ( two of 20 versus zero of 14 ) had wound-healing problems . All the patients thought that their hip scar was acceptable in appearance , but 30 of 31 patients rated the relief of pain and total hip replacement longevity as higher priorities than scar cosmesis . The cosmesis of mini-incision total hip replacement scars may be inferior to st and ard-incision scars because of skin and soft tissue damage produced by high retractor pressures needed for exposure using a limited skin incision . Level of Evidence : Therapeutic study , Level II-2 ( prospect i ve comparative study ) . See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence
The meta- analysis of the current evidence base showed that minimally invasive THA is associated with a significantly increased risk of transient lateral femoral cutaneous nerve palsy ( p = 0.006 ) with no significantly better outcome
Over the past decade , minimally invasive surgery has gained popularity as a means of optimising early postoperative rehabilitation and increasing patient satisfaction and cosmesis following  total hip arthroplasty ( THA ) .
However , this surgical exposure has also been associated with increased risk of iatrogenic nerve injury and implant mal-positioning due to limited visibility compared to conventionally larger surgical incisions .
The purpose of this meta- analysis was to compare the outcomes of these two surgical exposures .