He was, however, not the first surgeon to replace a joint. In 1890 the German Themistocles Glück already had no less than fourteen total joint replacements to his name, including knees, wrists and elbows, all made of ivory. He had even had the various parts of the joints made in different sizes so that he could find the right fit for both sides of the joint during the operation and assemble the two ivory components together on the spot. But Glück, too, had no luck.
