A Unique Surgical Procedure Was Performed In Minsk, In Which Two Of A Woman's Joints Were Replaced Without Making An Incision In The Muscles

• 22.10.2026, 12:49

Thanks to this method, the patient can get back on their feet literally on the day of the surgery.

A unique surgical procedure was performed at Minsk Clinical Hospital No. 11—a simultaneous bilateral hip replacement without cutting the muscles. This was reported by the Health Care Committee of the Minsk City Executive Committee.

The patient was admitted with a severe diagnosis: bilateral aseptic necrosis of the femoral heads with collapse. The condition was accompanied by severe pain and significant impairment of walking ability. The doctors decided to perform a complex simultaneous surgery on both joints.

“The direct anterior approach used by the surgeons is considered minimally invasive and offers a tremendous advantage in terms of the patient’s recovery speed. The main difficulty with traditional surgical approaches (posterior or lateral) lies in the need to incise or dissect muscles,” the doctors noted.

With the direct anterior approach, the surgeon gently spreads the tissues without damaging their structure. This minimizes blood loss, reduces the intensity of postoperative pain, and virtually eliminates the risk of prosthesis dislocation. At the same time, the joint’s natural muscle capsule remains intact, allowing the patient to get back on their feet literally on the day of surgery.

“However, there is a downside to this approach—an extremely narrow ‘surgical window’ and strict requirements for implant positioning. When performing simultaneous surgery on both legs, the strain on the body increases exponentially. This requires surgeons to work with precision and speed to minimize the time the patient spends under anesthesia. That is precisely why this type of procedure requires strict clinical selection,” the Health Committee emphasized.