Minimal-incision total hip arthoplasty: complications

Minimally invasive hip surgery techniques have been proposed as an alternative to conventional soft tissue exposure total hip arthroplasty. Purposed advantages of the technique included less blood loss, faster recovery, shoter stay in hospital and better cosmetical result. During the years good results have been presented by many authors, and serious complications have been found only in a few articles. But, some papers reported a catastrofic complications of the MIS procedures. Our intention is to present complication which had occured in our experience with MIS total hip replacement. Retrospective study involved 215 patients (230 hips). All patients, of mean age 55.7 years, obtained fiber metal midcoated or fiber metal taper femoral stem and identical fiber metal coated acetabular shell with polyethylene or ceramic insert. The goal of the study was to evaluate intraoperative and early postoperative complications: bone fractures and/or implant, blood loss, dislocations, prolonged bleeding, loss of component position in 6 week postop. period, infections, and thromboembolism. The complications we had may occure with any type of operating technique. The purpose of the study was not either to condone or condemn MIS techniques but to shaw the complications that had occurred in our experience.