[Computer-assisted, robot-assisted hip prosthesis--standard procedure or specialty indication?]

Approximately 150,000 total hip replacements annually are performed in Germany, with an increasing incidence of implants carried out on young subjects. Due to aseptic loosening, this group will undergo some revision arthroplasty after 15 years. Therefore, a permanent fixation appears mandatory. In case of posttraumatic or postoperative anatomical changes, exact preoperative planning by x-rays is extremely difficult. This might result in a higher rate of complications (e.g., displacement of the implanted prosthesis, fractures of the proximal femur), as documented by the available literature. The preoperative planning with CT images obtained at the 3D workstation shows the exact cortical situation, while the robot-assisted surgery allows the precise execution of the preoperative plan during surgery. By this point of time, long-term results of computer-guided, robot-assisted implantation of endoprosthesic devices are still lacking. However, the preliminary data indicate good results by means of anatomical position of the endoprosthesis and perioperative complications.