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Because of the extensile nature and familiarity of the standard posterior-lateral approach to the hip, a family of "micro-posterior" approaches has been developed. This family includes the Percutaneously-Assisted Total Hip (PATH) approach, the Supercapsular (SuperCap) approach and a newer hybrid approach, the Supercapsular Percutaneously-Assisted Total Hip (SuperPATH) approach. Such approaches should ideally provide a continuum for the surgeon: from a "micro" (external rotator sparing) posterior approach, to a "mini" (external rotator sacrificing) posterior approach, to a standard posterior approach. This could keep a surgeon within his comfort zone during the learning curve of the procedure, while leaving options for complicated reconstructions for the more practiced micro-posterior surgeons. This paper details one author's experiences utilizing this combined approach, as well as permutations of this entire micro-posterior family of approaches as applied to more complex hip reconstructions.

Level IV, therapeutic, case series (no, or historical, control group).

Albeit multifactorial, patient satisfaction is predominantly driven by postoperative pain and function. Unfortunately, approximately 20% of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) recipients are dissatisfied with the outcome of their surgery. Objective balancing of the soft tissue envelope may contribute to significant decrease in pain and increase in function when compared with traditional subjective methods. In an effort to confirm this, a cohort of manual TKA patient outcomes was compared with sensor-assisted TKA outcomes. One hundred fourteen patients (57 manual, 57 sensor assisted) received primary TKA. Both cohorts were matched for confounding variables. The dependent variables in this study were 6-month patient-reported outcome measures, including Knee Society Score and Oxford Knee Score. The range of motion and incidence of arthrofibrosis were also captured for both cohorts. The rate of improvement of all patient-reported outcome scores and subscores and range of motion was significantly higher in the sensor-assisted cohort. The rate of arthrofibrosis was lower in the sensor-assisted cohort but not statistically significant. The authors rejected the null hypothesis and concluded that the rate of improvement in objective, patient-reported outcome measures was higher in the sensor-assisted cohort than the manual cohort from preoperatively to 6 months postoperatively. [Orthopedics. 2017; 40(4):e648-e651.].

No abstract