Comparison of pain perception between open and minimally invasive surgery in total knee arthroplasty.

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) was a well-established procedure that had shown excellent long-term results in terms of reduced pain and increased mobility. Pain was one of the most important outcome measures that contributed to patient dissatisfaction after TKA. After a computerized search of the Medline and Embase databases, we considered articles from January 1st, 1997 to October 31st, 2009 that underlined the impact on patient pain perception of either standard open total knee arthroplasty or minimally invasive total knee arthroplasty. We included articles that used the visual analog scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMasters Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Knee Score, Hospital for Special Surgery Score (HSS), Oxford Knee Score (OKS) as postoperative pain indicators, and we included studies with a minimum follow-up period of two months. We excluded studies that monitored only functional postoperative knee activities. It was shown that TKA with the open technique was a better treatment for knees with a positive effect on pain and function than the minimally invasive technique.