HISTORY OF HIP SURGERY

Osteoarthritis has been a problem since the beginning of time. Palaeopathologists have detected osteoarthritis of the hip with the same distributions and prevalence today as they did in the earliest human skeletons. 1 Nevertheless, the first surgical attempts to treat osteoarthritis of the hip did not occur until 200 years ago. Until the introduction of ether as an anesthetic agent in 1847, hip surgery had repelled even the most ambitious orthopedic surgeons. The first attempts began in the 18th century with amputation and joint resection, but due to lack of aseptic precautions, the success rate was very low. Most applications were limited to severe open trauma cases and tuberculous arthritis. French scientist Louis Pasteur, the first to prove germ theory, inspired Joseph Lister to introduce antisepsis during surgery to the medical community via a publication in 1867. Advances such as the introduction of rubber gloves by William Halstead in 1890 and the development of the no-touch technique by W. Arbuthnot Lane in 1902 were key steps in developing aseptic surgery. Sir John Charnley developed remarkable techniques in the control of air contamination and subsequent bacterial infection, which continues to be the most devastating complication after total hip arthroplasty (THA).