Biomet Cementing University

Sahlgrenska University Hospital Presentation

History
Sahlgrenska University Hospital was founded on 1 January 1997. It unified previous hospitals in Mölndal, Sahlgrenska and Östra. The joint organisation was formed to make the most of the emergency care resources in greater Göteborg and to ensure that inhabitants of the area receive top quality care. The merger also made it possible to achieve the very best conditions for research, development and training.

Sahlgrenska University Hospital is northern Europe's largest hospital. The hospital has over 2700 beds and approximately 16900 employees working in some 140 departments. Sahlgrenska University hospital provides emergency treatment and basic healthcare for the Göteborg region (pop. 700000) and highly specialised care for all of western Sweden (pop. 1700000).

Sahlgrenska University Hospital was founded with the aim to offer and maintain the highest levels of proficiency in administering healthcare. The hospital also co-operates closely with the region's educational institutions, including secondary schools all the way up to universities and medical schools. The hospital additionally serves as one of the country's six training hospitals for doctors, affording the hands-on experience that is integral for performing basic research and ultimately achieving cutting-edge expertise.

Department of Orthopaedics
The Sahlgrenska University Hospital Department of Orthopaedics provides specialised care for the local community, for Sweden at large and for patients from other parts of Scandinavia and Europe. As part of a university hospital, the orthopaedics department continuously contributes to research and development projects within the orthopaedics field. Personnel of the department are constantly educated on the latest advances in orthopaedic surgery. In the orthopaedic surgery unit, back, prosthetic and trauma procedures are performed in addition to tumour surgeries. The department is staffed by some 80 persons, features five operating rooms and performs around 3800 surgeries every year.

Swedish Arthroplasty Register
The joint replacement unit is home to Sahlgrenska University Hospital's prosthetic team. One of the unit's main responsibilities is the maintenance and development of the Swedish National Hip Register, a nation-wide study collecting and analysing data on all primary total hip replacements and revisions of hip implants performed in Sweden since 1979. All units performing total hip surgery in Sweden participate in the register on a voluntary basis. Professor Peter Herberts and Associate Professor Henrik Malchau head the register, which is supervised by a board elected by the Swedish Orthopaedic Association.

The primary functions of the National Hip Register are to describe the epidemiology associated with hip replacement surgery in Sweden and to identify, through the study of revisions, the risk factors connected to the patient, fixation mode, implant and surgical technique that lead to a poor outcome. The register also helps to describe, by documenting serious complications and failures, the benefits of using modern surgical technique and high quality implants. The importance of the register and the continual improvement in care quality it has fostered is indisputable and well documented (Herberts et al, 1989, Herberts et Malchau 1997, Malchau et al, 1993).

For more information see: http://www.jru.orthop.gu.se/