Introduction

A traditional open hip surgery is performed through a 10-12 inch incision on the side of your hip so that your surgeon can have a clear vision of the problems in the hip joint. A minimally invasive hip surgery is an advancement to this traditional approach as it allows the procedure to be performed through one or two small incisions thereby facilitating less muscle dissection, minimal pain, quicker recovery and faster rehabilitation.

This less invasiveness is possible because of the arthroscope, a narrow fiber-optic tube with a camera and light source. When inserted through one of the incisions, the light source illuminates the site of damage and the camera relays real-time images of the hip joint, which can be clearly viewed on a monitor. Other surgical instruments are inserted through the other incisions to treat the condition.

The advantages of minimally invasive total hip replacement as compared with traditional total hip replacement may include:

• Smaller incisions
• Shorter hospital stay
• Less trauma to the surrounding tissues
• Quicker recovery
• Less blood loss
• Less scarring
• Faster rehabilitation
• Minimal post-operative pain