John Charnley facts for kids

Sir John Charnley (29 August 1911 – 5 August 1982) was a famous English orthopaedic surgeon. He was a pioneer in developing the hip replacement operation. Today, this surgery is one of the most common operations around the world. He also created the "Wrightington centre for hip surgery" to focus on this work.

Charnley also showed how important it was to press bones together when fusing joints. This method is called arthrodesis. He used it especially for knee, ankle, and shoulder joints. He also taught many future orthopaedic surgeons through his textbook on treating broken bones, first published in 1950.

Early Life and Education

John Charnley was born in Bury, Lancashire, England. His birthday was August 29, 1911. His father, Arthur, was a chemist, and his mother, Lily, was a trained nurse.

John went to Bury Grammar School starting in 1919. He was very good at science, especially chemistry and physics. In 1929, he began studying at the Medical School of the Victoria University of Manchester. He earned his degrees in medicine and science in 1935.

Starting His Surgical Career

After finishing university, John Charnley became a junior surgeon. He worked at the Manchester Royal Infirmary starting in August 1935. He quickly decided he wanted to become a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. He passed this important exam in December 1936.

He then worked at Salford Royal Hospital. In 1938, he took a research job at King's College London. He returned to Manchester in 1939. There, he worked with many orthopaedic specialists, learning more about treating bone injuries.

World War II Service

When World War II began in 1939, Charnley joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. He served as a doctor in the army. He was part of the British evacuation from Dunkirk.

Later, he was sent to Cairo, Egypt. There, he worked under an orthopaedic surgeon named Dudley Buxton. This experience helped him decide to focus on orthopaedic surgery. He was promoted to the rank of Acting Major in 1942. He finished his military service in May 1944.

Returning to Manchester and Research

After the war, Charnley wanted to improve his skills. He spent six months in 1946 at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital. Here, he became very interested in how bones heal.

He returned to Manchester Royal Infirmary in 1947. He became an assistant orthopaedic surgeon. Charnley was very interested in two main problems:

• How compression helps cancellous bone heal.
• How joints stay lubricated and move smoothly.

He believed that working with mechanical engineers was key to making new discoveries. His research looked at both treating patients with osteoarthritis and understanding how bones and cartilage heal.

Charnley felt that the hospitals in Manchester did not have the best tools for his research. So, in 1958, he decided to focus his work at Wrightington Hospital in Lancashire. He wanted to create a special center just for hip surgery. The hospital agreed to his plan.

Developing the Hip Implant

Wrightington Hospital used to treat tuberculosis. But as that illness became less common, the hospital needed a new focus. Charnley's hip surgery center became its new main purpose.

Building a Biomechanical Lab

Charnley's first goal at Wrightington was to build a lab. This lab would help him test his new tools and ideas. He raised money for the lab, and it opened in 1961.

He studied how joints move. He found that the low friction in joints mainly depends on the materials touching each other. It was not just about the fluid in the joint. This idea was called the Low Friction Arthroplasty concept.

Finding the Right Materials

This discovery led him to search for a very slippery material for the hip socket. He first tried Polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE), also known as Teflon. He used it in his hip replacement surgeries. The surgery involved:

• Removing the top part of the femur (thigh bone).
• Replacing it with a metal implant, held in place with special cement.
• Using a PTFE socket for the implant to fit into.

At first, the PTFE seemed to work well. But after about a year, it started to wear out. It also caused problems with the body's soft tissues. This meant patients often needed another surgery. This was a big setback for Charnley.

But he didn't give up! He kept looking for a better material. He eventually found Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). After testing it, he used it for the first time in a patient in November 1962. He waited five years to make sure it was safe and worked well. Once he was sure, he shared his discovery with other surgeons.

As more hip replacements were done, Charnley designed machines to make the artificial hips. He also created tools to check patients' hip problems before and after surgery.

Working with Chas. F. Thackray Ltd

Charnley worked closely with a company called Chas. F. Thackray Ltd. They helped him make his surgical tools and implants. He made the sockets himself at home at first. Later, Thackray's manufactured them. This teamwork helped improve the hip replacement operation over many years.

The Importance of Bone Cement

Charnley believed that using bone cement was the best way to fix the artificial hip to the thigh bone. He saw the cement as a filler that locked the parts together, not just a glue. He had specific ideas about the cement:

• It should be pure, without extra ingredients.
• Its exact ingredients should be known to everyone.
• It needed to be sterilized properly.
• It should include a substance called barium sulphate so surgeons could see it on X-rays.

A company called CMW Laboratories Limited made a cement that met these needs, called CMW bone cement. Charnley also understood that studying artificial joints from patients who had passed away was important. This helped him learn how the materials wore down and how tissues changed, leading to better surgeries.

Fighting Infection in Surgery

Many patients got infections after hip replacement surgery. Charnley worked hard to stop this. He tried adding antibiotics to the bone cement, which helped a little.

In 1961, he created a special enclosure for the operating room. This enclosure had filtered air to keep bacteria out. He worked with F. H. Howorth, a company that built air filtration systems. They improved his system to allow more filtered air to flow through.

Charnley also realized that surgeons' clothes could spread germs. So, he developed a special full-body gown for surgeons. This gown had an exhaust system to keep the surgeon comfortable and prevent germs from escaping. These gowns became common in the 1970s. Both the enclosure and the gown were improved over time to make them even better.

Personal Life

As an adult, Charnley loved skiing. In 1957, he met Jill Heaver while on a skiing holiday. Even though he was 46 and she was 26, they fell in love and married a few months later.

They had two children: Tristram, born in 1959, and Henrietta, born in 1960. Charnley even turned the attic of their first home into his workshop. Later, they moved to a larger house in Mere, Cheshire.

Legacy and Recognition

John Charnley is known as the founder of modern hip replacement surgery. His work greatly improved how hip replacements were done. He also made surgery safer by reducing infections.

He taught many surgeons from around the world. This helped spread his techniques and knowledge globally. Even in 2011, many of his former students were still teaching hip replacement surgery.

Charnley received many important awards for his work:

• In 1974, he received the Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh.
• In 1975, he was awarded the Lister Medal for his contributions to surgical science.
• He was made a knight in 1977, becoming "Sir John Charnley."

Images for kids

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  Manchester Royal Infirmary in 1957, where Charnley worked.

• 

  An example of a hip replacement.

See also

In Spanish: John Charnley para niños