Incision method for knee replacement that preserves soft tissue

A surgical method, comprising:

• performing a medial oblique incision in a patient's knee that avoids cutting the knee's vastus medialis obliques (VMO) muscle and quadriceps tendon, the medial oblique incision lying along a line extending from a first end of the line to a second end of the line,
• the first end being medial to the patient's tibial tubercle,
• the second end being at a point between the patient's anterior and posterior aspect of the patient's medial thigh and proximal to the superior pole of the patient's patella, and
• the line traversing a path that extends proximally in an antero-medial region of the patient's knee.

A surgical method, comprising:

• drawing markings on a patient's skin in a region of the patient's knee, the markings including a first marking of the patient's tibial tubercle and a second marking consisting of a line that extends from a first end of the line to a second end of the line,
• the first end being medial to the first marking,
• the second end being at a point between the patient's anterior and posterior aspect of the patient's medial thigh and proximal to the superior pole of the patient's patella, and
• the line traversing a path that extends proximally in an antero-medial region of the patient's knee;
• and
• performing a medial oblique incision in the patient's knee that lies along the line, wherein the knee's vastus medialis obliques (VMO) muscle and quadriceps tendon remain intact and uncut.