It is a poignant picture of a life of travelling and the present-day medicine that heals it. On the one hand, it is a natural joint disfigured by time its smoothly-smooth cartilage worn away, bones rubbing against bones, producing the painful debilitating of end-stage arthritis. It is next to an ultimately successful end-result of decades of biomedical engineering; a highly refined, fine-tuned artificial replacement. Such esthetic difference embodies the spirit of reconstructive orthopaedics the radical change of a life restricted by pain to one that is re-created by movement. The artificial parts, which are constructed to recreate the biomechanics of a natural limb, symbolise not only metal and polymer, but of walking without a limp, being able to climb stairs without support, as well as resuming favourite activities. It is a surgical invention that replenishes the wear with strength, providing patients with a new opportunity to live an active and independent life.