Abstract
More than 60.000 hip arthroplasty are performed every year in Italy. Although Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight-Polyethylene remains the most used material as acetabular cup, wear of this material induces over time in vivo a foreign-body response and consequently osteolysis, pain, and the need of implant revision. Furthermore, oxidative wear of the polyethylene provoke several and severe failures. To solve these problems, highly cross-linked polyethylene and Vitamin-E-stabilized polyethylene were introduced in the last years. In in vitro experiments, various efforts have been made to compare the wear behavior of standard PE and vitamin-E infused liners. In this study we compared the in vitro wear behavior of two different configurations of cross-linked polyethylene (with and without the add of Vitamin E) vs. the standard polyethylene acetabular cups. The aim of the present study was to validate a micro X-ray computed tomography technique to assess the wear of different commercially available, polyethylene’s acetabular cups after wear simulation; in particular, the gravimetric method was used to provide reference wear values. The agreement between the two methods is documented in this paper.
Highlights
Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a successful orthopaedic standardized procedure to restore functionality on damaged hip due injury or arthritis [1]
Since ideal bearing surfaces for THA are still being continuously sought, continue effort are made in order to obtain the “ideal bearing surface; the bearing surface should have superior wear characteristics and should be durable, bio-inert, cost-effective, and easy to implant [2]
Future bearing surfaces can be developed by changing the design and improving the polyethylene used as acetabular cup for THA
Summary
Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a successful orthopaedic standardized procedure to restore functionality on damaged hip due injury or arthritis [1]. As the number of successful operations has increased, the goal of developing alternate bearing surfaces has been to create a joint with decreased friction and wear rates but with increased strength. Techniques have become standardized and the average age of those receiving hip replacements has reduced. Since ideal bearing surfaces for THA are still being continuously sought, continue effort are made in order to obtain the “ideal bearing surface; the bearing surface should have superior wear characteristics and should be durable, bio-inert, cost-effective, and easy to implant [2]. Future bearing surfaces can be developed by changing the design and improving the polyethylene used as acetabular cup for THA.
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