The European school of total hip arthroplasty and 35 years of total hip arthroplasty in the Czech Republic.

The development of the European total hip arthroplasty in the sixties of 20th century is associated mainly with the names of G. K. McKee, J. Charnley and M. E. Muller. The SICOT meeting in Paris in 1966 introduced THA as a new method of treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip and paved the way for the commercialization of the manufacturing of prostheses. The success of this method consisted primarily in the fixation of individual components by bone cement and application of metal-to-polyethylene and metal-to-metal joints. The book presents these historical events as they have been reflected in the development of THA in the countries of the former Czechoslovakia and in the development of implants of domestic provenance. The development of THA in the former Czechoslovakia started in 1969 and was based on the Swiss school established by M. E. Muller. The Muller component with the "banana-shaped" stem was implanted using the Watson-Jones approach, the proximal femur canal was prepared by a rasp and the Palacos cement was used. This prosthesis served also as the model for the first Czech implant Poldi-Cech of I generation (the Chirulen cup available in three sizes, the "banana- shaped" femoral component with a 32 mm head-diameter and 130 degree neck-shaft angle) the development of which started in 1969 and the serial production began in 1972 in the Poldi Kladno steel company. Fatigue fractures of the "banana-shaped" stem led to the development of the concept of a femoral component with an "anatomical" stem. In Switzerland, this concept was developed by B. G. Weber. In the former Czechoslovakia the development of a new femoral component with an "anatomical" stem following the shape of the intramedullary canal with an ovoid profile and without sharp edges started in 1972. Due to the incidence of fatigue fractures of the "banana-shaped"stem and material that was not sufficiently strong (steel used for the production of osteosynthetic components), 144 degree neck-shaft angle was chosen. Reduction of the effect of bending forces on the valgus stem had eliminated fatigue fractures. This Poldi-Cech prosthesis of II generation was provided in nine sizes. The diameter of the head remained the same. Three Chirulen cups were supplemented with a "flat" cup for implantation in a dysplastic acetabulum. The prosthesis was implanted with an exact instrument set (reamer for acetabular preparation, rasp for proximal femoral preparation, alignment device for accurate positioning of both the cup and the femoral component) with the use of the Palacos cement. The production of the Poldi-Cech prosthesis of II. generation started in 1974 with the fabrication of a monoblock. Since 1986 it has been developed into a modular system (14/16 cone) with the possibility to use a ceramic head of 32 mm diameter (only in the nineties the cone size was changed to 12/14 and the heads were provided also in the 28 mm diameter). The Poldi-Cech prosthesis of II generation with the "anatomical" stem has been implanted since 1974 (i. e. during 30 years) in more than 140 000 patients in the Czech and Slovak Republics. In the same year cemented monoblock hemiarthroplasty was developed on the same basis as THA using the same "anatomical" stem and 36 to 60mm head diameter. Until now more than 35,000 of these hemiarthroplasty systems have been implanted. Until 1992 the Poldi-Cech implant was practically the only available cemented total hip replacement in the former Czechoslovakia and retrospectively it may be considered a highly successful implant. In the authors' view, the further development of THA will lead in the following years to the use of implants proved by a long-term follow-up. Preference will be given to prostheses the implantation of which will require a minimal loss of the bone stock during primary surgery and which will allow a technically easy reimplantation. The continental Europe has been recently preferring hybrid prostheses while Scandinavia witnesses an evident increase in the number of implanted cemented prostheses to the detriment of the cementless and hybrid ones. Naturally, cementless prostheses will keep dominating in young patients.