Cost and Patient Satisfaction After Total Knee Arthroplasty: Standard Medial Para-patellar Versus Quadriceps Sparing Mid-vastus Surgical Approach

Over the past 20 years the length of stay in hospital after total knee replacements has decreased from 9 days to 3 days in Canada and in just the last 10 years the mean length of stay has decreased by half from 6 to 3 days. In order to discharge patients quicker from hospital it's been theorized that less invasive techniques and better, longer lasting anaesthesia are required.

The less invasive quadriceps sparing mid-vastus approach for TKA has been compared to the standard medial para-patellar technique in many studies. Meta-analyses that have looked at studies comparing these approaches have shown some early advantages for quadriceps sparing early post-surgery, but no differences between groups later on and no difference in complications. Early advantages of the mid-vastus approach could potentially allow for earlier and safer discharge from hospital.

Adductor canal block (ACB) and local infiltration analgesia (LIA) form the mainstay of opioid sparing multimodal analgesia for TKA. The nerves of the adductor canal innervate the superficial and deep tissues of the anterior and medial aspects of the knee. ACB has been shown to provide equivalent analgesia while maintaining quadriceps power compared to femoral nerve block (FNB). LIA involves infiltrating the soft tissues of the posterior, lateral and medial aspects of the knee with local anesthetics, ketorolac and morphine. Due to their minimal impact on motor function, ACB and LIA are suitable for fast track TKA.

In combination, quadriceps sparing mid-vastus TKA with ACB may allow patients to be discharged from hospital quicker when compared with standard medial para-patellar TKA with LIA. With our study we aim to investigate whether a quadriceps sparing TKA can provide cost savings without changing complication rates when compared to the current standard of care.