Wrightington Hospital
Wrightington Hospital was established in 1932 and officially opened in June 1933 for the treatment of patients with tuberculosis.
Deliberately situated away from the pollution of the city, it offered a sanatorium regime of: rest, fresh air, good food, light therapy and surgery.
The advent of anti-tuberculosis drugs, immunization and improvements in public health reduced the demand allowing early surgery and shortened the in-patient stay.
John Charnley was a visiting surgeon based in Manchester and already had an international reputation for his work in trauma and diseases of joints. He took the opportunity to develop a specialist unit at Wrightington for the treatment of the arthritic hip.
The success of his operation – the low frictional torque arthroplasty (LFA) of the hip has made the Centre for Hip Surgery, and Wrightington Hospital internationally known in the field of Orthopaedics for the excellence of the results, training and research.
Since November 1962 over 40,000 hip replacements have been carried out. Follow-up of patients past 40 years is the evidence of the clinical success of the Charnley method.
The hospital has attracted surgical expertise with the development of joint replacements of the knee, ankle and foot as well as the shoulder elbow, wrist and hand.
