APPLICATION OF NUMERICAL MODELING OF OSTEOTOMY TO ORTHOPEDIC PRACTICE

During the development of an osteoarthritic hip joint, osteophytes, cy sts as well as arthrosis originate on the contact boundary between the femoral head and the acetabulum in highly loaded human joints. The pu rpose of proximal femur osteotomy is to bring the femoral head into a new position inside the acetabulum. The corrective options of intertro chanteric osteotomy most frequently used in orthopaedic practice are v algization, varization, displacements, oblique displacements, laterali zation, extension, rotation or shortening of the shaft. The present wi despread tomographic measurement methods, such as computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 2D or 3D reconstruction inv olve the simulation of surgical problems of osteotomy, as well as the simulation of the reconstruction of the function of the hip joint afte r the operation. The results of numerical modelling of osteotomy conce rning contact problems, will be presented in the contribution. (C) 199 7 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.