Retrospective Comparison of Two-Incision Total Hip Arthroplasty with a Standard Direct Lateral Approach: A Single Surgeon’s Experience

We retrospectively reviewed the senior author’s total hip experience over a 2-year period (2003-2004), during which he adopted the minimally invasive surgery two-incision approach (MIS). In this series, 126 cases were MIS, while 75 total hip arthroplasties (THAs) were done with a standard approach. There was a significant difference in length of stay with MIS at 2.20 days (2.03-2.37 days) compared with standard THA 3.73 days (3.37-4.09 days) (P < 0.01). The shorter operative time in the MIS group was also significant 98.01 min (93.42-102.59 min) versus 110.12 min (102.08-118.15 min) (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in overall complication rate or rate of reoperation after a minimum 24-month follow-up period. There was also a significant decrease in sequential groups of 42 patients in length of stay, operative time, and estimated blood loss.