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Blue plaque tribute to hip replacement pioneer

NHS Black and white photograph of Professor Sir John CharnleyNHS
Professor Sir John Charnley carried out the procedure for the first time in 1962

A blue plaque has been unveiled in memory of the man who carried out the world's first hip replacement operation more than six decades ago.

Professor Sir John Charnley carried out the "life-changing" procedure at Wrightington Hospital near Wigan, Greater Manchester, in 1962.

A million people across the world now have the operation every year.

The plaque was unveiled outside the hospital, which remains a leading centre for orthopaedic surgery after Sir John laid the foundations.

Photograph of a blue plaque on a brick wall at Wrightington Hospital
The plaque is outside the hospital's Centre for Hip Surgery

The pioneer established the hospital's Centre for Hip Surgery and received his knighthood in 1977.

His son Tristram Charnley, who helps run a charitable trust to keep his father's legacy alive, said: "We now see hip and knee replacement surgery as a commonplace thing but it all started here in Wrightington.

"People came from all over the world to study with my father and people were willing to put themselves forward, almost as guinea pigs, in the hope that their pain would be reduced".

Photograph of Tristram Charnley, the son of Professor Sir John Charrnley
Tristram Charnley helps run a charitable trust to keep his father's legacy alive

Sir John was born in Bury in 1911 and began his medical career at Manchester Royal Infirmary, specialising in orthopaedics.

He was was also a pioneer at fighting infection control in major surgery, helping to create a sterile air flow system that is still in use around the world.

Surgeon Bodo Purbach said he left a huge legacy.

"Charnley put together the full operation from the anaesthetics, to infection control and how to rehabilitate the patient," he said.

"This is the breakthrough in modern hip replacement surgery."

The surgeon Bodo Purbach - in front of a photo of Professor Sir John Charnley.
The surgeon Bodo Purbach works at the bone bank at Wrightington Hospital

Sir John worked at Wrightington Hospital from 1948 until his death in 1982.

It remains a centre of excellence for orthopaedic surgery, carrying out about 1,500 hip replacements annually.

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