fig3 shows an illustrative embodiment of a kit according to the invention , comprising an endoprosthesis shaft 4 which is designed as a straight shaft , the actual shaft 4 f having an essentially rectangular cross section with two narrow - side surfaces 4 c , 4 d and two broad - side surfaces 4 e . at the proximal end , the shaft 4 f has an internal thread 4 a and a cone 4 b for a joint head . the kit further comprises a fitting instrument 3 which has a connection rod 3 d on which a stamp 3 c is secured which opens into an adapter piece 3 b and an external thread 3 a . the kit further comprises a spacer element 2 which is designed as a sleeve - shaped , rectangular body 2 d , with two side wings 2 a which form an upper limit stop surface 2 b and a lower limit stop surface 2 c . the kit also comprises a proximal centering and / or sealing element 1 . the spacer element 2 is designed in such a way that it lies with its upper limit stop surface 2 b on the stamp 3 c . upon insertion of the endoprosthesis shaft 4 , the lower limit stop surface 2 c comes to lie at some time on the reference surface 1 m , 1 n of the proximal centering and / or sealing element 1 and thereby limits , in the direction of extension of the shaft , the mutual positioning of endoprosthesis shaft 4 and centering and / or sealing element 1 . since the centering and / or sealing element 1 lies with its surface 1 m , 1 n preferably flush with the resected surface of the femur during implantation , the depth of fitting of the shaft 4 f is determined by the spacer element 2 . a selection of spacer elements 2 are available to the operating surgeon , said spacer elements 2 being designed with different lengths in the proximal - distal direction c . the spacer element 2 represented in fig3 and 4 is to be regarded as only one illustrative embodiment from a large number of possible designs . the object of the spacer element 2 is to provide an upper and a lower limit stop 2 b , 2 c in order to ensure a defined depth of fitting of the shaft 4 with respect to the proximal centering and / or sealing element 1 or its reference surface 1 m , 1 n . this function can be satisfied by spacer elements 2 of widely different designs . fig4 shows an endoprosthesis shaft 4 in the inserted position , the femur not being represented . after inserting a manipulating shaft into the medullary cavity , the operating surgeon determines the depth of insertion of the shaft with respect to the resection plane . from the plurality of spacer elements , the operating surgeon selects the one which ensures the intended depth of insertion . this selected spacer element 2 is secured on the stamp 3 c of the fitting instrument 3 , and the endoprosthesis shaft 4 is then screwed onto the external thread 3 a via the internal thread 4 a . the centering and / or sealing element 1 is then pushed onto the shaft 4 f from the distal direction . the endoprosthesis shaft 4 together with the centering and / or sealing element 1 , as is represented in fig4 is then inserted into the medullary cavity until the spacer element 2 abuts the proximal centering and / or sealing element 1 and as far as the resection plane which forms a reference plane . the bone cement located in the medullary cavity is thereby compressed and forced out from the medullary cavity toward the centering and / or sealing element 1 . at least the inner side surfaces 1 b , 1 c , 1 d lie on the endoprosthesis shaft 4 and exert a sealing action . as long as the endoprosthesis shaft 4 does not lie with its side surface 4 d on the inner side surface 1 e , a gap 1 p is formed between these surfaces , through which gap the bone cement can escape . an operating surgeon can cover this gap 1 p , for example with his finger , and can thus control the escape of the bone cement relatively precisely by pressing his finger against the gap 1 p or uncovering said gap . the inner side surface 1 e can also be arranged with respect to the side surface 4 d , or the shaft 4 can be pushed deep into the centering and / or sealing element 1 , in such a way that a sealing effect is achieved between these two surfaces 1 e , 4 d , so that the element 1 acts simultaneously as centering and sealing element . in a preferred embodiment , the centering and / or sealing element 1 is designed , and the bone cement selected , in such a way that said bone cement flows all round the proximal centering and / or sealing element , the bone cement being forced out between the inner side surfaces 1 b , 1 c , 1 d , 1 e and the shaft 4 a and also between the outer surface of the centering and / or sealing element 1 and the femur . an illustrative embodiment of the centering and / or sealing element is described with reference to fig2 a through 2 c . the centering and / or sealing element consists of a sleeve - shaped body extending in a proximal - distal direction c , said body having two broad - side boundaries 1 q , 1 r and two narrow - side boundaries 1 f , 1 g which , as can be seen from the view according to fig2 c , enclose an essentially rectangular inner space 1 a . the inner side surfaces 1 b , 1 c of the broad - side boundaries 1 q , 1 r are designed extending essentially parallel to the proximal - distal direction c and also parallel to the lateral - medial direction a . in the illustrative embodiment shown , as can be seen from fig2 c , the inner side surface 1 d of the narrow - side boundary 1 g extends parallel to the proximal - distal direction c . the broad - side inner side surfaces 1 b , 1 c could also be designed extending parallel to the proximal - distal direction c , but in the illustrative embodiment shown they converge slightly in the distal direction , this having the advantage of affording an improved sealing effect between endoprosthesis shaft 4 and inner side surface 1 b , 1 c . the second narrow - side boundary 1 f has an inner side surface 1 e extending at an inclination to the inner side surface 1 d . in the illustrative embodiment shown , all the boundaries 1 q , 1 r , 1 f , 1 g have a part section 1 l which extends in the proximal - distal direction c and which forms , adjacent to the part section 1 k , a wall thickness tapering in the distal direction , as can be seen in particular from the cross section shown in fig2 b . in the proximal direction , the broad - side boundaries 1 q , 1 r end in a reference surface 1 m , 1 n . this reference surface 1 m , 1 n , extending in the medial - lateral direction a , has , as can be seen from fig2 a and 2 b , a course which is bent so as to follow the course of the broad - side boundary 1 r . in contrast to the illustrative embodiment according to fig2 a through 2 c , the otherwise identically designed body 1 shown in fig5 has two broad - side boundaries 1 r , 1 q which are rectilinear , i . e . they have no bend point . in contrast to the illustrative embodiment according to fig2 a through 2 c , the body 1 shown in fig1 has a narrow - side boundary 1 g which is designed wider in the medial - lateral direction a and which additionally has in the center a continuous gap 10 extending in the proximal - distal direction c . the femoral neck is resected . the medullary cavity is then widened using a bone rasp . the outer shape of the centering element , i . e . the outer surfaces 1 r , 1 k , preferably corresponds to the outer shape of the bone rasp . a manipulating shaft is then inserted into the widened medullary cavity and a joint head is fitted onto this manipulating shaft . the bone rasp can if necessary also be designed to receive a joint head or can comprise a joint head and can therefore be left for the time being in the medullary cavity . the position of the joint head is then checked and the leg manipulated , for example in order to examine the leg length , and the depth of fitting of the manipulating shaft or bone rasp can be adjusted in particular in the proximal - distal direction c until an optimum position has been found for the leg . the depth of fitting of the manipulating shaft or bone rasp is then read off . the manipulating shaft or bone rasp is then removed from the medullary cavity , whereupon the bone cement is filled into the medullary cavity . then , as is represented in fig6 the centering and / or sealing element 1 is pushed over the tip of the shaft 4 f , the shaft is secured on the fitting instrument 3 , if appropriate using spacer elements 2 determining the depth of fitting , as shown in fig3 or fig4 whereupon the shaft is inserted into the medullary cavity . the centering and / or sealing element 1 is likewise introduced into the medullary cavity . the tapering part section 1 l facilitates reliable and centered insertion of the centering and / or sealing element 1 into the medullary cavity . the centering and / or sealing element 1 is pressed in so that the end faces 1 m , in preferably are flush with the resected surface , whereupon the shaft is inserted further until the predetermined depth of fitting is reached . the fitting instrument 3 and the optionally used spacer element 2 are then removed . in the illustrative embodiment shown , as can be seen from fig2 c , the narrow - side inner side surface 1 d is designed extending in the proximal - distal direction c , the advantage of which is that this surface serves as a bearing and reference surface during insertion of the shaft 4 f , said surface 1 d causing no displacement of the shaft 4 f in the medial - lateral direction a . a distal centering element can also be arranged on the shaft tip 4 g . to achieve a sealing effect , it is necessary that the inner side surfaces 1 b , 1 c , 1 d , 1 e of the centering and / or sealing element 1 are designed to match the geometry of the shaft 4 f , so as to achieve a sealing effect . for this reason , these inner side surfaces 1 b , 1 c , 1 d , 1 e , predetermined by the shape of the corresponding shaft 4 f , can be designed in very different configurations in such a way that a sealing effect between shaft 4 f and centering and / or sealing element 1 is achieved with at the same time mutual displaceability in the proximal - distal direction c . fig6 shows an illustrative embodiment of a kit which comprises an endoprosthesis shaft 4 , a distal centering and / or sealing element 1 and a fitting instrument 3 . markings 6 are arranged on the shaft 4 in order to indicate the depth of fitting with numbers “ 0 ”, “ 5 ” and “ 10 ”. the fitting instrument 3 also has markings 6 with the same numbers . during implantation , the optimum depth of fitting is determined with a manipulating instrument , markings and numbers being arranged on the manipulating instrument . the marking lying at the resected surface is read off . the centering and / or sealing element is then anchored with its upper edge 1 m , 1 n flush with the resected surface in the medullary cavity and the bone cement is inserted into the medullary cavity . the shaft 4 is then secured on the fitting instrument 3 and introduced into the medullary cavity . during insertion , the operating surgeon can use the markings 6 to accurately determine the depth of insertion of the shaft 4 with respect to the upper edge 1 m , 1 n of the centering and / or sealing element . fig7 shows a further illustrative embodiment of a kit which comprises an endoprosthesis shaft 4 , a distal centering and / or sealing element 1 and a fitting instrument 3 . the stamp 3 c comprises a securely connected limit stop part 3 e which has a limit stop surface 2 c for abutting the centering and spacer element 1 . stamps 3 c with limit stop parts 3 e of different lengths in direction c can be provided , so that the mutual position of centering and / or sealing element 1 and shaft 4 can be set by appropriate choice of stamp 3 c .
the kit for implanting a cementable endoprosthesis comprises a fitting instrument and at least two components to be implanted , namely an endoprosthesis shaft and a proximal centering and / or sealing element , the shaft and the fitting instrument being designed to be able to be coupled to each other , and the centering and / or sealing element being designed to be placeable on the shaft and to be displaceable in the direction of extension of the latter , and either the fitting instrument comprising a limit stop part which forms a limit stop relative to the centering and / or sealing element , or a marking being arranged on the fitting instrument and on the shaft in order to ensure a defined mutual position between the centering and / or sealing element and the shaft .