Minimally Invasive Total Knee Replacement Surgery

knee replacement surgery which is virtually minimally invasive is now a reality!
minimally invasive total knee replacement surgery is the latest advancement in knee replacement surgery technique. this new technique is helping patients
have less discomfort during and after surgery
offers faster recovery post-surgery
in-fact patients start walking within hours of the surgery
patient can walk without any support in a few days.
this is how this knee surgery is virtually painless?
knee replacement patients generally face discomfort during and after surgery. this is due to the use of general epidural anaesthesia. the use of epidural helps in blocking the pain in the leg during the knee surgery. however, the drawback being, that it anaesthetises both the leg even if a single leg is operated. the effect of this epidural last for longer time and leaves numbness in both legs. the patient can only walk once the numbness has subsided.
however, minimally invasive total knee replacement surgery, does not require the use of an epidural anaesthesia. instead it uses a technique known as the adductor canal block. to help you understand this better, the adductor canal is a small passageway or canal in the thigh, through which the femoral artery, femoral vein, nerve to the thigh muscle and the saphenous nerve pass. the saphenous nerve is the nerve which passes pain sensation from the leg to the brain. by introducing a local anaesthesia at the adductor canal blocks passage of pain signals from the saphenous nerve.