Department of Endoprosthetics - Hospital Garmisch-Partenkirchen

About the Department of Endoprosthetics at Hospital Garmisch-Partenkirchen

According to the Focus magazine, the Department of Endoprosthetics at the Hospital Garmisch-Partenkirchen ranks among the best German medical facilities specializing in hip replacement surgery!

The department offers the full range of services for knee and hip arthroplasty, including revision surgery. The department has been carrying out successful clinical activities for over 50 years and is one of the top five Endoprosthetics Centers in Germany. The department annually performs over 2,800 surgical interventions on the joints, and, in total, it has performed more than 64,000 arthroplasty procedures. In November 2012, the department was certified as the Endoprosthesis Center by the German Society for Orthopedics and Orthopedic Surgery (DGOOC). The high competence of doctors, a wide range of surgical techniques and modern implants contribute to the provision of optimal medical care. Most joint interventions are performed using sparing minimally invasive techniques and advanced navigation systems, which guarantee patients excellent results and a high safety of treatment. The department is headed by Dr. med. Rolf Schipp.

Upon admission to the department, a patient undergoes comprehensive diagnostics, which allows the doctors to assess the severity of the knee or hip lesions, the patient's general health condition, as well as the advisability of performing a joint replacement procedure. The classic diagnostic protocol includes a complete blood count and an urinalysis, a coagulogram, a biochemical blood test, electrocardiography, X-ray scanning, and densitometry. In some cases, doctors also prescribe magnetic resonance imaging. If the diagnostic results are satisfactory, and the attending physician decides that it is necessary to perform an operation to replace the affected joint with an artificial prosthesis, the next step is to select the optimal type of endoprosthesis. It should be noted that the specialists of the medical facility work only with high-quality prostheses, which are manufactured by leading companies in Europe and the USA. Such endoprostheses serve more than 15 years and provide the patient with a freedom of movement without any pain. The most appropriate type of anesthesia is then determined. In most cases, the department's doctors use general anesthesia, but sometimes it is also possible to use regional anesthesia with sedation. The optimal type of anesthesia is selected only individually.

A surgical approach during the operation is formed by an incision 8-15 cm long at the site of ​​the knee or hip joint. When performing the operation on the hip joint, the surgeon removes the affected femoral head and the areas of the affected acetabulum, after which the endoprosthesis elements are implanted, usually using a navigation system for their most accurate positioning. When replacing a knee joint, the surgeon removes worn cartilage surfaces and performs the necessary manipulations on the femur and tibia, after which he fixes the parts of the prosthesis. The next step in hip and knee replacement surgery is to check the mobility of the implanted prosthesis, followed by wound suturing. The final stage of the intervention is the application of a bandage and a follow-up X-ray scan. The duration of the operation is only 30-45 minutes.

The department's doctors begin rehabilitation procedures immediately after the operation. Such an approach guarantees the restoration of the patient's mobility and eliminates pain in the near future. On the day of the operation, the patients usually take their first steps in their room under medical supervision, after which their work with physiotherapists begins. Their first priority is to gradually increase the load on the new joint, improve gait and train walking on stairs. To consolidate the result of the joint replacement surgery, the department's doctors strongly recommend to undergo a prolonged rehabilitation at a specialized Center for Orthopedic Rehabilitation.

An important aspect of the department's clinical practice is its close cooperation with the leading highly specialized Endoprosthetics Centers in Germany, Switzerland and the USA. This facilitates a continuous exchange of experience and provides patients with access to the very latest surgical techniques and implants.

The priority goal of all department's specialists is to provide their patients with customized treatment aimed at restoring maximum mobility and improving the patient's quality of life. Particular attention is paid to detailed consultations, during which doctors tell the patient about the operation, the stages of postoperative recovery and the predicted outcome.

The department's range of medical services includes:

• Hip replacement surgery
  • Cementless hip prosthesis implantation (most often such prostheses are used in patients between the ages of 60 and 70)
  • Hybrid hip prosthesis implantation (a combination of a cemented and cementless prosthesis – an artificial acetabulum is inserted into the pelvis without the application of any cement, while the stem of the endoprosthesis is fixed in the bone using the so-called "bone cement")
  • Sliding endoprosthesis implantation
  • Revision interventions on the hip joint
• Knee replacement surgery
  • Unicondylar sliding prosthesis implantation (this option can be used in a case of lesions of the inner or outer side of the knee joint caused by the normal state of the opposite side of the joint and the posterior surface of the patella)
  • Bicondylar sliding prosthesis implantation (this is a prosthesis that replaces the entire surface of the knee joint; during the operation, a minimum of bone tissue is removed and the implant is fixed to the natural surface of the knee joint)
  • Implantation of partially and totally constrained endoprostheses (these can be used for ligament dysfunction; the prosthesis provides stability, partially or totally, as required)
  • Revision interventions on the knee joint
• Other therapeutic options