Abstract
The discovery of sir John Charnley who was the first to develop and use the low-friction hip arthroplasty in the clinical practice represents major revolution in the orthopaedic surgery of degenerative joint disease. In the Czech Republic the first arthroplasty of Charnley-Muller type was used in 1969.
Proceedings in orthopaedic surgery rest not only on introduction of new implants but also on improvement and modification of the new surgical methods. Good clinical results raised the increasing interest in orthopaedics not only in experts in this field but also in patients with multiple joint disability.
Also for this reason the total hip replacement was introduced into the orthopaedic surgery. In the aim to improve survival and good function of the joint replacement, development of subsequent theoretical research in the field of the tribology, pathophysiology of tissue response at the implant and improvement of the technological process of implant manufactory followed.
Recently arthroplasties of the shoulder joint, elbow and ankle were introduced into the orthopaedic surgery as well. Undoubtedly, introducing new concepts in the joint replacement represents a remarkable quality of life improvement for thousands of patients