MIS-adventures: Complications & Pitfalls of Minimally Invasive Surgery

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) delivers clear advantages—but it also introduces a unique set of complications that can quietly undermine outcomes. “MIS-adventures” takes a candid look at the pitfalls of limited-incision techniques across foot and ankle surgery, from inadequate visualization and malreduction to thermal necrosis, iatrogenic nerve injury, and fixation errors. The episode dissects where MIS goes wrong, why it happens, and how small technical missteps can have outsized clinical consequences. The discussion emphasizes prevention and recovery: patient selection, imaging strategies, intraoperative checkpoints, and early recognition of complications before they snowball. From fluoroscopic illusions to overconfidence in percutaneous workflows, this episode is about sharpening judgment as much as technique. Because in MIS, the margin for error is smaller—and if you’re going to make a small incision, you’d better make a big effort to get everything else right.