Bristol Hip Meeting November 2009
Course Co-convenors:
- Evert Smith
- Anthony Ward
- Ashley Blom
The 2009 meeting was sponsored by Zimmer Inc. with support from Corin Group Plc, JRI Ltd and Finsbury Orthopaedics.
The meeting was held in the Clifton Pavilion at Bristol Zoo and opened with three warning levels in view of being held in such a venue:
- Be careful, you may step on it
- Be careful, you may trip on it
- Be careful, it may eat you!
What a wonderful start to the meeting!
George Babis from Attikons University Hospital, Athens and Aldo Toni from the Rizzoli Institute, Bologna were our international guests supported by a strong faculty from the United Kingdom.
The programme covered patient outcome measures, solutions for primary hip replacements and controversies relating to total hip replacements and resurfacing arthroplasty. The challenging problems in relation to congenital hip problems, the young adult, hip trauma and implants were discussed. A session was also held to debate problem clinical cases.
Revision hip arthroplasty and techniques for bone loss and fractures were discussed in detail by the faculty and delegates.
The update on bearing surfaces generated a heated and lively debate. Even though metal on metal bearing surfaces have been utilised for many years, and in many patients, (both in total hip replacements and resurfacing arthroplasty), there remains controversy about cobalt chromium alloys as a bearing surface. The issues are those of cellular toxicity, metal sensitivity and the local effects of metal particulate debris and potential carcinogenesis in the long term. National joint registries, orthopaedic publications and research from the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford have identified that patients at high risk of problems with resurfacing arthroplasty are those with small femoral heads, and young female patients. (Pandit H et al J Bone Joint Surg 2008; 90B: 847-51 and Australian National Joint Replacement Registry, 2007).
The Bristol Hip Arthroplasty Course continues to thrive, is alive and well as both the delegates and faculty have time to debate the problems, changes in practice and innovations in the area of hip surgery. The hip meeting demonstrated that there continue to be a lot more questions than answers.
Faculty:
- George Babis
- Aldo Toni
- Yoav Ben Shlomo
- Michael Bishay
- Simon Bridle
- Stephen Eastaugh-Waring
- Darren Fern
- Rachael Gooberman-Hill
- Fares Haddad
- John Ivory
- Rob Middleton
- James Richardson
- Ian Stockley
- John Timperley
- Duncan Whitwell
The marketing for the meeting was by Clockwork Marketings & Events Ltd.