Dictionary & abbreviations

Anatomy: dissection, knowledge of the construction and composition of the body

orthopedics: the specialization that focuses on the treatment of abnormalities, diseases and traumatic damage to the musculoskeletal system

Surgery: medical science

Analgesic: painkiller

Anesthesia: the desensitization (by narcosis, administration of an anesthetic or analgesic)

Artroplasty: surgery to improve a deformed joint

Arthritis: degenerative joint disease, this is wear and tear of the joint due to cartilage loss

Degeneration: degeneration, wear

Cartilage: smooth, shimmering layer covering the ends of the bones

THP: Total hip prosthesis

Artificial knee: Total knee replacement

Sport hip: Is often used as a synonym for resurfacing hip replacement. The term sport hip, however, is not well chosen because one can also exercise with a classic hip replacement.

Blood transfusion: giving a quantity of red blood cells that ensure the transport of oxygen in the body.

Resurfacing: type of hip replacement, in contrast to the classic total hip replacement, the neck of the femur is retained

Femur: thigh bone

Pelvis: consists of 2X3 bones (ilium, ischium and pubis)

Sacrum: A triangular bone in the lower back formed from fused vertebrae and situated between the two hip bones of the pelvis

Coccyx: A small triangular bone at the base of the spinal column in humans

Acetabulum: The socket of the hip bone, into which the head of the femur fits.

LMWH : Low Molecular Weight Heparin, syringes that you get for 6 weeks in the subcutaneous fat fold to prevent phlebitis after a THP

Phlebitis : venous inflammation resulting in thrombosis

Trombosis: formation of a blood clot or blood clot in a blood vessel

Vein: carrying in oxygen-depleted blood towards the heart

Artery: by which blood (which has been oxygenated) is conveyed from the heart to all parts of the body

Luxation : dislocation; during hip dislocation, the hip head comes out of the hip socket

Infection : contamination  of an organism (human) with germs; infection ≠ inflammation

Germs: collective name for bacteria, viruses, fungi

Bacteria: single-cell microorganism of the order of 0.1-10μm

Virus: infectious biological unit without cell structure in contrast with bacteria

Anti-inflammatories: NSAID

Inflammation: tissue reaction to a harmful stimulus, this is classically characterized by 5 signs: redness, swelling, heat, pain and impaired function. Everyone who undergoes surgery will do some kind of inflammatory reaction as a result of the operation itself. This is completely normal and is treated with ice application and adjusted medication that you will receive the first days after the operation to minimize the nuisance of the inflammation.

NSAID: Non Steroïdal Anti Inflammatory Drug; this means that the medicine works anti-inflammatory but does not belong to the cortisone family.

Cortisone: a natural substance that normally occurs in the body and is produced by the adrenal gland; also exists as a medicine and works anti-inflammatory

PAO: Para-articular ossification of bone formation in the vicinity of the joint

Epidural anesthesia: numbing by injecting an anesthetic into the epidural space

Epidural space: the space between the dura mater and the side of the spinal canal

Dura mater: the outer, hard spinal cord membrane

Narcosis : reversible state of general anesthesia and unconsciousness, deliberately induced by medication

Nausea : sickness

TED socks : Trombo Embolism Deterrent socks, elastic socks worn by patients after an operation to prevent thromobis or an embolism. 

Aseptic necrosis or osteonecrosis : localized bone death due to poor blood supply to an area of bone

Osteofyt: small, irregular bone growth in the vicinity of a joint  secondary to osteoarthritis

Dysplasia : abnormal development

Congenital hipdysplasia: congenital malformation of the hip joint with a tendency to develop poorly

CDH: Congenital Dysplasia of the Hip

Snapping hip: hip joint that gives a crackling sound when a tendon glides over a bone end

Infusion: intravenous administration of fluid and / or medication, without pressures other than gravity

Intraveneous: in a vein

Brackets: The skin is closed with hooks that can be easily removed 14d after the procedure

ECG: Electrocardiogram. Registration of the electical activity of the heart

RX Thorax: radiography of the lungs 

Lungembolism:  an embolism that is stuck (blood clot) in a blood vessel of the lungs

Recovery:  awakening room where you are observed a few hours after the surgery before returning to your room

Drain of Redon: flexible plastic hose that is left behind in an operating area, with a vacuum bottle at the other end.

Coxarthrosis: wear of the hip joint

Joint capsul: casing of the joint 

Labrum: Spherical shore around the hip bowl

Synovium:  synovial membrane; a membrane that coats the joint capsule and secretes synovia

Synovia: Joint liquid

Trochanter: leg extension of the femur

Revision: re-surgery

rheumatism: an inflammatory process of muscles and joints

Artificial pan: acetabular component of the hip replacement that is clamped in the pelvis

Prosthesis stem: femoral component of the hip prosthesis that is clamped in the femur

Stainless steel: The term steel refers to a family of alloys consisting of iron and carbon. By, among other things, varying the carbon content, steels with many different properties can be manufactured. When Chromium is associated with levels higher than 12%, it will disappear typically rusting and stainless steel will be obtained. Again there are different types of stainless steel. For surgical implants, the 316L alloy is mainly used, which also contains Nikel and Molybdenum in addition to Chromium. The L means that the carbon content is kept low for better resistance to corrosion.

Cobalt alloys:
In the 1930s these alloys were introduced to manufacture  orthopedic implants because they were more resistant to corrosion than the stainless steels at that time.

Titanium alloys: An alloy that has been used since the sixties for the production of prosthetic material. This material was originally introduced because it is extremely resistant to corrosion and because it does not contain Cobalt, Chromium or Nikel. In other words, it is extremely biocompatible. Later on, another advantage became clear: the stiffness of titanium alloys is half of Cr / Co alloys or stainless steel and thus comes closer to the stiffness of bone. This also prevents the phenomenon of stress-shielding.

Biocompatible: this means that there are no rejection reactions by the body

Bioinertic: this means that there are no rejection reactions by the body

Beencement: The most frequent form is PMMA bone cement. PMMA stands for Polymethyl Methacrylate. This is a polymer with the same basic composition as Plexiglas. PMMA was discovered as biocompatible material when the plexiglass, which was used for windscreens of aircraft, came into the eyes of pilots and did not cause an immune response of the body. The first applications were in dentistry. In the 1960s it was introduced to fix orthopedic implants in the bone. It was mainly the orthopedic surgeon Sir John Charnley who announced the use of cement worldwide.

Ultrahigh Molecular Weight PolyEthylene:
UHMWPE  is a thermoplastic polymer that is bioinertic in large form. The medical application of PE is only a small fraction of the much larger industrial application. UHMWPE was commercially introduced in 1955 and used for the first time in hip prostheses in 1963.