Step 3 consisted of anatomic research—first, in anatomic atlases and, afterwards, during many nights at the Anatomic Institute. This enabled us to see even the finest and most discrete anatomic structures, some of which are not even mentioned in the anatomic atlas.
After a while, we focused mainly on the Smith-Peterson approach—the only way to reach the hip joint via an internervous plane, that is, an area with no nerve fibres crossing through it. The use of an internervous plane means that there is no risk of damaging small but important nerve fibres during surgery.
