On 19 January, the world’s first implant of a KeriFlex finger prosthesis was performed at Schulthess Klinik. Dr. med. Daniel Herren MHA, our Head of Hand Surgery, assisted with the development of this prosthesis for patients experiencing painful deterioration of their proximal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints as the result of accident or illness.

On 6 January 2021, our Co-Head of Hip Surgery, Hannes Rüdiger, was appointed as an adjunct professor at the University of Zurich. This title serves as recognition of his achievements in both science and teaching over the last few years.

Our hand surgeons use the CapFlex prosthesis developed at our clinic to treat many cases of osteoarthritis in the interphalangeal joints. After over ten years of working with the implant and more than 330 CapFlex prostheses implanted at the Schulthess Klinik, we have now published the initial findings in a renowned international journal, five years after surgery.

The Schulthess Klinik Spine Unit is celebrating its 33rd anniversary this year. Multidisciplinary care for spinal column patients has always been the focus here.

As part of our comprehensive commitment, we support CYBATHLON 2020 as a medical partner in particular. Our Medical Team is examining 57 pilots from 21 countries, domiciled in time zones around the world, most of them in collaboration with a specialist on the ground via a remote examination. The medical checks ensure the safety of the pilots and guarantee fair starting conditions.

Our Head of Hand Surgery, Dr Daniel Herren, took office as FESSH Secretary General in September.FESSH promotes cooperation among hand surgeons in Europe in particular.

On 8 September 2020, the University of Debrecen in Hungary awarded Dezsö Jeszenszky the title of professor at a formal ceremony. We would like to congratulate Prof. Dezsö Jeszenszky on this milestone and we are delighted to have a spine surgeon on board who has worked tirelessly on behalf of patients for many years.

From a health perspective, the repair of a torn rotator cuff (should tendon) can be beneficial to many patients. But does the surgical procedure also make economic sense? Our team of researchers and doctors joined forces with the Winterthur Institute of Health Economics and 16 major Swiss insurance providers to investigate this very question, using a cost-utility analysis of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. 

A competition in which people with physical disabilities compete against each other to complete everyday tasks using state-of-the-art technical assistance systems – this is CYBATHLON 2020. Schulthess Klinik is supporting the event as a medical partner in the new global format too, which is due to the coronavirus pandemic and taking place on 13 and 14 November 2020.

Our spine research team has developed a prognosis tool to predict the result of surgery for spinal disc herniation. This means that patients are given a realistic assessment of what they can expect from an operation.