New Hip Prosthesis Replacement

  On July 26, 2012, Prof. Arnim Braun, Director of Orthopaedic Department of Vupius Klinik Hospital, University of Heidelberg, Germany, and former Scientific Chairman of German Orthopaedic Association, visited our hospital, Prof. Arnim Braun has long been engaged in artificial joint research, and has accumulated rich experience in short-stemmed Metha hip prosthesis replacement with more than 3000 surgeries per year. The orthopedic team of Prof. Wang Kun, Director of the Department of Joint and Trauma Surgery of our hospital, had a lively academic exchange with Prof. Arnim Braun on the issue of short-stemmed Metha hip prosthesis, and together they performed a short-stemmed Metha hip prosthesis for a 25-year-old young patient, the operation went smoothly and the postoperative result was satisfactory.  In the face of the increasing youthfulness of end-stage hip diseases and the increasing demand for a better quality of life after surgery, a biologic hip prosthesis must be more in line with human biomechanics and have stronger and longer lasting fixation, especially for young patients who need to be prepared for revision surgery in 20 to 30 years. The ideal femoral prosthesis must have strong initial stability (i.e., strong mechanical fixation), optimal late stability (i.e., firm biological fixation), near-normal stress transmission, minimal osteolysis, and long-term prosthetic survival. The short-stem Metha hip prosthesis is an anatomical biologic fixation prosthesis designed to meet this need.  In response to the characteristics of this young patient, Dr. Wang Kun and Dr. Zeng Chun, the deputy chief surgeon, made a perfect preoperative plan and measured the individualized prosthesis data. The surgery was carried out by Prof. Wang Kun, Director of Joint Trauma Surgery, together with Prof. Arnim Braun. Metha hip prosthesis can preserve more femoral bone volume for young patients, with less surgical trauma and faster postoperative recovery.  According to Director Wang Kun, the short-stemmed Metha hip prosthesis with partial retention of the femoral neck has the following advantages over the traditional long-stemmed prosthesis: (1) More bone reserves are preserved: the current service life of artificial joints is about 20 to 30 years, so it is inevitable that young patients will need joint revision surgery later. This is the basic guarantee for the effect of future revision surgery.  (2) More consistent with normal biomechanics: the short-stemmed femoral prosthesis is curved, and the medial side is consistent with the medial curvature of the femoral neck and the proximal femoral segment, and the position of the femoral shaft is not changed. The normal stress distribution of the hip joint is preserved and the forces are balanced. Restoring the eccentric distance (offset) to the normal anatomical level reduces the wear of the prosthesis.  (3) Good long-term fixation: the femoral neck bone is in good condition, and most of the femoral neck blood supply is preserved intraoperatively, reducing the chance of sinking of the femoral prosthesis. The medial and lateral teeth of the medullary file and the protrusions on both sides of the prosthesis stem, the pressure matching of the cancellous bone in the medullary cavity is conducive to the fixation of the prosthesis and bone growth into it.  (4) Acetabular prosthesis: the design is “double equatorial”, the titanium alloy outer cup is placed at an outward angle of 55, which is in line with the stress transmission of the acetabulum and achieves maximum bony inclusion. The inner cup is of super radius design (its equatorial radius is turned outward by 45), which makes the weight-bearing area thicker and more wear-resistant.  The short-stemmed Metha hip prosthesis design has its own unique advantages, especially for young patients, ensuring the results of long-term revision surgery for young patients. Our hospital doctors fully consider the treatment needs of young patients and provide more and better choices for the majority of patients, reflecting the higher level of joint replacement surgery in our hospital.