Short Stems in Total Hip Arthroplasty:
The future standard

I was lucky! 

When I started my surgical training in 2009 in one the leading arthroplasty departments in Germany, my former boss, Prof. Pfeil, together with a Swiss-based company, was conceiving and developing a new philosophy in hip arthroplasty involving an advanced stage of a short-stem design. 
Thus, right from the beginning,  I was thrown in at the deep end of the short-stem philosophy and was able to think and practise further the way of performing modern total hip arthroplasty over the past decade, surgically and scientifically.
 

Whereas the initial motivation in the development of short-stem total hip arthroplasty was bone preservation, minimally-invasive approaches and techniques emerged and it became obvious, that both components, the minimally-invasive techniques and the short and rounded femoral implants in combination will be highly beneficial for us as orthopaedic surgeons but in particular for our patients. 
 

After thousands of short-stem procedures, and multiple scientific studies, we have learned, how short-stem total hip arthroplasty will further revolutionize one of the most successful surgical procedures. Today, after 15 years, there are loads of scientific data available, confirming the benefits and the safety of short-stem hip arthroplasty.

Short-stem total hip arthroplasty today is mainly performed in large parts of Europe, Japan and to some degree in Australia and New Zealand. Large parts of the world not yet have access to or experience with it. I encourage every orthopaedic surgeon and every patient to make yourself familiar with the concepts and the characteristics of the most modern way of hip arthroplasty!