CORR Insights^®: Does Surgical Approach Affect Patient-reported Function After Primary THA?

Excerpt

Recovery after primary THA has become a hotly debated topic in an era of increased patient and surgeon demands. Less-invasive approaches, such as the direct-anterior approach, have been introduced to further the goal of rapid recovery. Prior investigations of other less invasive hip approaches have sited an inferior satisfaction when compared to the posterior approach [7]. However, numerous studies have suggested a faster early postoperative recovery time when comparing the direct anterior approach to the posterior approach [1, 6, 9, 12]. In a randomized gait analysis assessment, recovery after direct-anterior approach improved a larger number of gait parameters than the anterolateral approach between 6 and 12 weeks [5]. …