Abstract
With the advent of new hip implants (resurfacing and short stem prosthese) current treatment recommendations have to be reevaluated. The indication for surgical treatment in hip osteoarthritis as well as the choice of implants is mainly based on personal experience of the surgeoun (internal evidence) and clinical data (external evidence). Experimental studies can support the information from clinical trials and are necessary to evaluate the mechanical properties of an implant. They do not replace the clinical evaluation, however.
The level of evidence depends on type, quality and quantity of available data from published investigations. Recent innovations like surface replacement and short stem prostheses have mainly been investigated in single center observational studies with a relatively short followup.
Wider introduction of new implants, however, needs continuous evaluation of clinical and radiographic performance. Examples are given, how this monitoring should be performed in a clinical setting.
Theses abstracts were prepared by Professor Roger Lemaire. Correspondence should be addressed to EFORT Central Office, Freihofstrasse 22, CH-8700 Küsnacht, Switzerland.
