Olof Sköldenberg

Olof Sköldenberg is a Professor of Orthopaedics at the Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyd Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, and a senior consultant in orthopaedic surgery at Danderyd Hospital. Born in Stockholm in 1967, he began his medical career as a registered nurse in 1991 and became a surgical nurse in 1992. He completed his medical degree at Uppsala University in 1999 and became a specialist in orthopaedic surgery in 2010.

He defended his PhD at Karolinska Institutet in 2010 and has since combined clinical practice with an active academic career at the Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyd Hospital. He was appointed Associate Professor in 2014 and held an ALF-funded clinical postdoctoral position between 2014 and 2018. In June 2020, he was appointed Professor of Orthopaedics at Karolinska Institutet.

Sköldenberg holds several national and international leadership roles in orthopaedics. He has served as Chairman of the Swedish Hip and Knee Society since 2018 and is currently Scientific Secretary of the Swedish Orthopaedic Association (since 2023/2024). He is also a member of the Scientific Committee of the European Hip Society (EHS) and participates in multiple international orthopaedic organisations focused on hip and knee arthroplasty.

His clinical and academic work aims to improve outcomes in hip and knee replacement surgery through high-quality clinical trials, long-term follow-up studies, national register-based research, and methodological innovation.

Olof Sköldenberg’s primary research focus is on large-scale clinical trials and evidence-based improvements in hip arthroplasty. His work encompasses randomized controlled trials, long-term follow-up studies and national register-based analyses, with strong emphasis on clinical relevance and patient-centered outcomes.

Core interests and ongoing areas:

Large multicentre trials in hip surgery (for instance participation in EPOS) with focus on prevention of surgical complications and optimisation of perioperative care. PubMed+2ResearchGate+2

Implant selection and comparative implant performance (e.g. cup/liner design, polyethylene quality) in primary total hip arthroplasty. PubMed+2pdfs.semanticscholar.org+2

Long-term implant survival, bone mineral density around implants, and bone remodelling / periprosthetic osteolysis. Karolinska Institutet+1

Postoperative outcomes including early mortality, adverse events and periprosthetic fractures — studied with register data and multicentre cohort methodology. PubMed+2ResearchGate+2

Methodological innovation — including use of national registries and advanced imaging analytics (e.g. AI for radiographic analysis) to improve diagnosis, follow-up and outcome monitoring of arthroplasty patients. news.ki.se+1

The overarching goal of his research is to generate high-level evidence that can guide best practices in hip (and knee) arthroplasty, thereby improving outcomes and long-term quality of life for patients undergoing joint replacement.

Olof Sköldenberg is actively involved in undergraduate, postgraduate, and specialist training in orthopaedics at Karolinska Institutet and Danderyd Hospital. He teaches medical students, supervises specialist trainees in orthopaedic surgery, and mentors PhD students focusing on clinical and register-based orthopaedic research.

His teaching includes trauma and arthroplasty surgery, evidence-based clinical practice, perioperative management, and methodological aspects of orthopaedic research. He has supervised several doctoral students, contributed to curriculum development in clinical orthopaedics, and regularly lectures at national and international courses and professional meetings.