[Forty years of total hip replacement in Croatia at the department of orthopaedic surgery Zagreb--orthopedic surgery of the 20th century].

Forty years have elapsed since the first total hip arthroplasty in Croatia, a procedure that has revolutionized treatment of a whole range of states resulting in hip dysfunction and has brought about significant improvements in restoring functional ability and quality of life of the affected patients. Modern progress in the development of the hip joint endoprosthetics is closely connected to a growing application ofbiotechnology resulting in implants with greatly improved biological, constructional and biomechanical properties as compared to the pioneering efforts. Additionally, developments of the surgical techniques, such as mini-invasive surgery or computer-assisted surgery enable almost ideal arthroplasty. Since 1970, when the first total hip arthroplasty was performed in Croatia, constant endeavor is being made in order to follow-up the ever evolving progress in the total hip endoprosthetics.