Nasjonalt register for leddproteser: Til beste for pasienter og det norske helsevesenet

Abstract

ENGLISH SUMMARY Background:The Norwegian Orthopaedic Association started the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register in 1987. The register was extended to include arthroplasties in all joints in 1994. The aim of the registry was to detect inferior implants, cements and operation techniques as early as possible. Material and methods: All 70 Norwegian hospitals where such operations are performed, and approximately 400 surgeons, report to the register. The prostheses are followed until a revision operation or to the patients dies. Results: Several hip prostheses and cements with inferior results were detected early and are no longer in use. Both the cement type Boneloc and low viscosity cements are removed from the marked after reports from the Norwegian register. With an increasing age in the population and an increasing number of operations on younger patients, the number of prostheses operations, inserting an artificial joint, will increase in the future. Due to the lack of demands for clinical documentation, new products will be introduced to the marked without knowledge on its future qualities. The register will, therefore, continue to be important to survey short term results for new implants and also long term results for established implants.