Chistera approach to total knee arthroplasty

The Chistera is a long curved glove used to play a sport from the Basque Country in France. This approach describes a skin incision that looks like a chistera glove, made in an anterolateral fashion bridging.

The purpose of this approach is:

• to preserve the anatomy and function of the infrapatellar nerve (branch of the saphenous nerve),
• to be more cosmetically acceptable as the wound is hidden in the kneecap's skinfold,
• to get less tension on the skin wound upon a range of motion exercises in the postoperative period.