Hope high over hip technique

By KATHERINE HOBY

More than 4000 hip replacements are performed each year in New Zealand, and close to a million worldwide.

In conventional hip replacements there are difficulties telling when the prosthesis will give out. As a result, many patients suffer when their plastic-metal hip joint fails without warning.

PolyWare, along with the new plastic, will help those with hip replacements.

Arthritis Foundation acting chief executive Susan Sutcliffe said: "Technology that allows people to know the optimum time to have a hip replacement would be a terrific advance."

It would be of particular advantage to younger people, who knew they would have to have several hip replacements in their lifetime.

"Some of them suffer because they are cautious of having the operation too soon, or conversely they leave it too long."

Ms Sutcliffe said the development would also help people who were at risk, such as the elderly or obese.

"Those people could consider surgery at a safer time if they knew what the window of opportunity was."

At present, the only way to determine if an individual needed a further hip replacement was when the hip becomes a problem.

"It would be a great advance if you were able to determine when the replacement was required rather than suffering before you had any idea," said Ms Sutcliffe.

This year is the first year of the bone and joint decade, which runs until 2010.

PolyWare developer Peter Devane said that while much of the action was happening in Europe, it was hoped there would be promotion and awareness of musculo-skeletal disease in New Zealand.

* For more information on arthritis, phone the Arthritis Foundation in Auckland, (09) 529-0862, or look in the white pages under A for your local division.