一個消費者教育項目介紹了一種微創完全膝關節置換術，幫助患者明白不同類型微創關節置換術之間的重要區別。

由Zimmer公司推出的這種新型微創手術，完全不損傷控制膝蓋彎曲運動的股四頭肌肌肉和肌腱。在傳統的膝關節置換術中需要切開、修補或者切除這些組織，導致患者在術后痊愈與康復時出現疼痛。這種被稱作MIS Quad-Sparing完全膝關節成型術（TKA），在手術的時候需要使用特殊儀器以及改良的外科技巧來進行與傳統膝關節微創替代手術相同的、臨床證實有效的操作，但是手術切口更小。

與傳統完全膝關節置換術相比教，MIS Quad-Sparing TKA具有以下優點：組織創傷少、手術切口較小而且不明顯、康復期縮短、術中失血少、疼痛少、住院時間短。迄今為止，已經有2,000多例患者接受了Quad-Sparing膝關節置換術。

Zimmer公司主席、董事長、執行總裁Ray Elliot說：“Quad-Sparing TKA手術方案花了兩年半時間才最終定型，讓醫生與患者明白這種手術與其它目前使用的微創手術之間的區別十分重要。”

Quad-Sparing Total Knee Replacement
 
A minimally invasive total knee replacement procedure comes with a consumer education program to help patients understand important differences between various types of minimally invasive joint-replacement surgery.

This new minimally invasive surgery (MIS) from Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (Warsaw, IN, USA), entirely spares the quadriceps muscle and tendons, which control bending of the knee. The splitting, manipulating, or cutting of some of these tissues during traditional knee-replacement surgery causes much of patients’ pain during recovery and rehabilitation. Called MIS Quad-Sparing total knee arthroplasty (TKA), the procedure involves the use of special instrumentation and a modified surgical technique to place the same, clinically proven implants used in traditional knee MIS replacement surgery, but through a much smaller incision.

Compared to traditional total knee replacement surgery, the advantages of the MIS Quad- Sparing TKA include less tissue trauma, a smaller, less conspicuous incision, shorter total rehabilitation, less blood loss, less pain, and a shorter hospital stay. To date, more than 2,000 patients have had knees replaced with the Quad-Sparing technique.

“Quad-Sparing TKA has been two-and-a-half years in the making, and it’s important for physicians and patients to understand the distinction between the benefits of this technique and other minimally invasive techniques available today,” noted Ray Elliot, chairman, president, and CEO of Zimmer.