The 21st 

 
Century 
   
The new millenium has ushered in the spectre of terrorism and the associated severe
trauma. Trauma will therefore remain a high priority in the work of orthopaedic
surgeons. These trauma patients are often young in the most productive stage of their
lives deserving the very best care we can provide them.

Coupled with this, has been the spectacular rise in the prosperity of China and India.
The implications of this are considerable. Populations are becoming wealthier and
wanting more from their communities and themselves.

This has resulted in huge civil and building projects ( with associated industrial
accidents), greater number of cars on the rode (again with accidents despite improved
car design and safety measures) and people doing more activities(travel, leisure and
sport activities-resulting in injury).

In fact, the whole world has become a wealthier place from globalization and the
Internet, with exceptions of course ( in areas torn apart by civil war or populations
simply forgotten and stateless without any rights-the later said to be 15million, IHT
1/4/07).

Patients want rapid and modern treatment of their injuries as well as reconstruction of
their worn-out joints in order to preserve their physical life styles well into their senior
years. Governments concerned about dwindling birth rates also want the same people
to work longer to maintain economies of scale.

Orthopaedic surgeons need to adopt surgical techniques which allow effective

treatment and rapid rehabilitation, hence the explosion of interest in

MIS( small incision surgical techniques). But we need to look even further and
incorporate modern medical techniques such as stem cell/tissue engineering into our
daily routine. The MYJOINT(www.myjoint.org) project to grow the first biological joint
was launched by Drs PH Warnke and Suresh Sivananthan in Europe in 2007 and
promises to deliver a new era in joint replacements.

And only to be ignored at our dire peril is global warming. People and governments,
thanks to the pioneering efforts of people like Al Gore of the US, have finally
acknowledged the extent of this problem. Natural disasters and upheavels, such as the
Tsuanmi of 2005, will escalate in size and frequency causing huge numbers of civilian
casualties, if we don't act now to contain the damaging effects of human activities on
the environment.

Orthopaedic surgeons need to act both as skilful and progressive surgeons as well as
good global citizens.

Dr Sherry and Dr PH Warnke at the time of their report about the first
endocultivated bone (a jaw) in a human, published inthe Lancet in 2004.
Both standing in front of the historic Kuntscher exhibition at Kiel Univ.