ABSTRACT
Since Sir John Charnley introduced the modern total hip replacement in 1962, arthroplasties of the lower limbs have become one of the most reliable and most successful procedures in orthopedic surgery [1,2]. In 2005, 285,000 hip replacements and 523,000 knee replacements were performed in the United States, and it is expected from projection that the number of procedures performed in 2005 will double by the year 2026 for total hip replacement and by the year 2016 for total knee replacement [3]. Owing to the continuing demand of patients, health authorities, and doctors themselves, these procedures evolved from an intervention that was performed in elderlies only to relieve pain and allow them to resume activities of daily living to an intervention with a wide age range and that aims to relieve pain, allow patients to participate in recreational activities in an accelerated manner, restore high level of function, and last for a life time.
