News

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.

Our hand surgery study on trapeziometacarpal osteoarthritis received the «2019 JHSE Editors’ Award». The award was presented by the «Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume)». The winning study deals with the question what level of pain and limitation of hand function is it best to operate on patients with trapeziometacarpal osteoarthritis in order to get the best possible result.

Joint diseases often affect the surrounding muscles and hip disorders such as osteoarthritis of the hip and femoroacetabular impingement syndrome are no exception. Yet is there difference in the way these diseases impact on the muscular systems of men and women? This is the question that the research team from our Human Performance Lab and Hip Surgery department have been investigating. The team has published two studies on the subject.

In early March, two scoliosis operations were performed at the Schulthess Klinik based on a new procedure – one that had never been used before in Switzerland – that is designed to preserve mobility. Unlike operations involving fusion, this approach makes it possible to maintain more flexibility in the spine.

In 2019, Schulthess Klinik took care of 7,798 inpatients, performed 9,364 surgical procedures and conducted 121,253 outpatient consultations. Each of these figures was made possible by a broad range of expertise and services – and above all, the people who provide them. The Schulthess Klinik Annual Report offers a detailed overview of the clinic’s various specialist departments and their accomplishments in 2019.

Tennis elbow is one of the most common elbow conditions and is usually caused by overuse. Fortunately, treatment very rarely requires surgery. It is, however, a different matter if the affected tendon has torn and is causing chronic tennis elbow symptoms. In these cases, which tend to be rare, tendon reconstruction may provide long-awaited relief.

Professor Norbert Gschwend died in the evening of Sunday, 22 March 2020 at the age of 95. With his pioneering spirit, Norbert Gschwend not only had a formative influence on orthopaedic surgery, but also on the history of Schulthess Klinik. In him, we have lost a great physician, a sponsor, our patron, and a friend.

On 30.01.2020, Dr. med. Daniel Herren, Head of Hand Surgery, implanted the 300th CapFlex prosthesis into a patient here at our clinic. The artificial finger joint was developed at the Schulthess Klinik and has been used over 1000 times worldwide.