Christiansen's artificial hip joints--what went wrong?

Modern arthroplasty is undoubtedly the greatest contribution that orthopaedic surgery has ever made to medical science. The honour for the good results achieved with total hip replacement surgery goes chiefly to the Briton John Charnley (1911-1982). However, the Norwegian Tor Aas Christiansen (1917-1981) has also earned a place in this history. He wanted to improve the operative treatment of dislocated, medial fractures of the femoral neck, and in the 1960s he constructed a hemiprosthesis. Later, he also made a total prosthesis for the hip joint. Over time, the prostheses proved to be less than successful. Nevertheless, approximately 6,500 Christiansen prostheses were fitted in Norway before a prospective Charnley vs. Christiansen study at the Coastal Hospital in Hagavik finally put an end to his prostheses in 1983. Indirectly, the study led to the establishment of a national register of hip prostheses, now the National Arthroplasty Register, at Haukeland University Hospital. Based on our personal cooperation with Christiansen, as well as original drawings and correspondence from the Polaris factory in Sandnes, we will tell the story of Christiansen's hemi- and total prostheses. These are a key element in the history of hip arthroplasty in Norway.