Life is motion. A defective hip or knee makes that very clear to us: pain limits our ability to move, our quality of life is reduced. A joint destroyed by osteoarthrosis cannot be healed. Neither drugs nor any other inter-
ventions can make it "healthy" again. Consequently only a well-func-
tioning artificial joint, a so-called "endoprosthesis", can guarantee a life without pain. The success of an operation and the healing process are largely determined by your attitude and cooperation. By careful planning and thorough preparation you can minimize potential risks and optimize the result.

Believe in the success of the operation and work with your family and the clinic team to achieve that goal. Improve your general health by reducing excess weight, try to eliminate tobacco and cigarettes, and familiarize yourself with physiotherapy and the use of walking aids (crutches) before your operation. If you regularly take medication that

affects the clotting abilities of your blood (e.g. ASS 100, Aspirin, Marcumar, Colfarit, Plavix), these will have to be discontinued at an appropriate time possibly substituted by other drugs to avoid an increased risk of a haemorrhage during the operation. Please contact us or your family doctor to determine the right time for this change in medication.

Steps to avoid blood transfusions: Become your own blood donor!
If you are in good general health you can donate your own blood before joint replacement surgery. Since we are one of the leading German centres in this field, we have all the necessary technical equipment as well as the know-how to go with it. For our patients this means that we choose the blood-donation technique best suited to your individual needs from the wide array of measures available. Our experts for blood conserving measures will be happy to inform you about the details.