Abstract
Four major approaches to total knee arthroplasty (TKA) exist: standard parapatellar,
subvastus, midvastus, and mini-parapatellar. Research has shown that there may be
some benefit to patients when minimally invasive approaches are employed. However,
research has not shown whether the minimally invasive approaches are beneficial for
restoring patients' gait when compared against those of healthy age–matched subjects.
This study has compared the effect of the four surgical approaches using computer
navigation on recovery of gait at 2, 4, and 6 months. Although some statistically
significant differences exist among surgical approaches at specific points of the
gait cycle, results demonstrate that no approach is superior to another in restoring
patients' gait across the entire gait cycle.
Keywords
total knee arthroplasty - vastus - parapatellar - minimally invasive - gait
