Potential advantages of minimally invasive total knee arthroplasty (TKA) include decreased pain, faster recovery, and increased
quadriceps muscle strength. Computer-assisted navigation has been associated with more accurate component alignment. We evaluated
two groups of 50 patients who had minimally invasive TKAs performed with and without navigation by two surgeons. A comparison
of 50 previous TKAs by each of the two surgeons showed similar results. The mean operative times for the navigation and nonnavigation
groups were 112 minutes (range, 63–297 minutes) and 54 minutes (range, 35–86 minutes), respectively. The mean estimated blood
losses, mean Knee Society pain as well as functional scores and mean component alignments were similar. The number of knees
that deviated by more than 3° from the normal anatomic axis was three and one in the navigated and nonnavigated groups, respectively.
Complication rates were 6% and 4% in the navigated and nonnavigated groups, respectively. Our data demonstrate no distinct
advantage of navigation when combined with a minimally invasive approach.
Level of Evidence: Level II, therapeutic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
One or more of the authors (PMB, DAD, MAM) are consultants for and receive funding from Stryker.
Each author certifies that his or her institution has approved the human protocol for this investigation, that all investigations
were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research, and that informed consent for participation in the study
was obtained.