Pioneering in the first century of hip replacement: experiences of a surgeon-designer.

The current author offers an anecdotal history of the total joint replacement industry in North America that emerged in the 1960s and of the individuals and organizations that shaped it. The author's career as an arthroplasty pioneer, influences that helped him become interested in uncemented fixation techniques, and his impression of the requirements the industry places on emerging orthopaedic leaders also are chronicled.