John Charnley

John Charnley was a British orthopedic surgeon who developed low-friction arthroplasty, the modern total hip replacement. From 1962 he worked full time on hip surgery at Wrightington Hospital in Lancashire, where in November 1962 he performed the first total hip replacement using a small-diameter metal ball paired with a low-friction plastic socket, a combination that solved the wear problem that had defeated earlier attempts at the operation. He also developed a clean-air operating enclosure and body-exhaust surgical suits to reduce infection during the procedure, and taught his methods to surgeons from around the world at the center for hip surgery he established at Wrightington. He was knighted in 1977. Hip replacement is now one of the most commonly performed operations in the world.