Dr Werner Hauck is a specialist at the Endoprosthetics Centre in Landstuhl

4 consultants and 7 registrars, 6 of whom are specialists in orthopaedics and accident surgery, work under Dr W. Hauck in the Department of Orthopaedics and Accident Surgery. Around 6,500 patients are treated annually, of whom 2,500 are in-patients.

The therapeutic emphases are knee and hip endoprosthetics, with approximately 600 procedures per year, as well as endoscopic joint surgery and the treatment of intervertebral disc and spinal conditions. In addition, numerous procedures are performed for bony and joint injuries and for deformities of the foot.

The postoperative treatment is carried out by the in-house Department of Physiotherapy, which has a staff of 14, and which is also led by Dr Hauck. The department's facilities are complemented by an exercise pool. An outpatient rehabilitation centre (ZAR) is attached to the hospital, which is operated in conjunction with the Nanz Medico company. The close proximity and the close contact with the staff there are of benefit to the patients and their rehabilitation.

Particular emphasis is placed on the use of minimally invasive techniques, in particular, in hip endoprosthetics. The staff now has 8 years of experience with the AMIS technique. The options for conserving a joint are always considered before an endoprosthetics replacement and are implemented where possible. A navigation system, a method of surgical control and guidance, is utilised in every endoprosthetics procedure on the knee. We have absolute confidence in the system because it guarantees unparalleled precision. Incidentally, 95% of the time we work in endoprosthetics without bone cement, that is, uncemented. We only use implants by reputable manufacturers, which have proven successful over years of clinical use and which are available in a variety of sizes and lengths, that is, also as so-called short-stemmed implants.

The surgical treatment of intervertebral discs is similarly conservative. Here, surgical treatment is only undertaken if all conservative treatment options have been utilised. Catheter techniques and periradicular infiltration (PRT) under fluoroscopy and CT play an important role here.