Polyethylene in Knee Arthroplasty
- 1 November 2005
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research
- Vol. 440 (&NA;), 141-148
- https://doi.org/10.1097/01.blo.0000187811.48717.9d
Abstract
Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene remains the gold standard as a bearing surface for total knee arthroplasty. But problems of oxidative degradation and wear have prompted new sterilization techniques and new forms of more highly cross-linked polyethylene. The value of these solutions can be shown initially from laboratory data, but in the end their usefulness will be confirmed through clinical performance. The significance of new polyethylenes cannot be established on the basis of a single type of test or even on a single goal such as improved wear resistance. Rather, a range of requirements dictated by design goals (function, fixation, and wear) must be considered. The requirements can be competing, so that matching one compromises matching another that, if not taken into account, can lead to failure in clinical use. Previous improvements to polyethylene ultimately failed because not all the requirements were met. The same concern exists with highly cross-linked polyethylenes; improvements in wear resistance are tempered by a decrease in toughness. A case can be made for and against these polyethylenes, but early clinical results in hip arthroplasty show significantly improved wear, raising the possibility of also improving wear performance in knee arthroplasties.Keywords
This publication has 46 references indexed in Scilit:
- Wear, Debris, and Biologic Activity of Cross-linked Polyethylene in the KneeClinical Orthopaedics & Related Research, 2004
- Experimental and Numerical Modeling of Variable Friction Between Nanoregions in Conventional and Crosslinked UHMWPEJournal of Biomechanical Engineering, 2004
- Why Are Total Knee Arthroplasties Failing Today?Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 2002
- Backsurface Wear and Deformation in Polyethylene Tibial Inserts Retrieved PostmortemClinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 2002
- Particle size and morphology of UHMWPE wear debris in failed total knee arthroplasties—a comparison between mobile bearing and fixed bearing kneesJournal of Orthopaedic Research, 2002
- Accelerated aging studies of UHMWPE. I. Effect of resin, processing, and radiation environment on resistance to mechanical degradationJournal of Biomedical Materials Research, 2002
- Wear and Periprosthetic OsteolysisClinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 2001
- Quantitative analysis of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) wear debris associated with total knee replacementsJournal of Biomedical Materials Research, 2000
- The Effects of Shelf Life on Clinical Outcome for Gamma Sterilized Polyethylene Tibial ComponentsClinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 1999
- Residual stresses in ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene loaded cyclically by a rigid moving indenter in nonconforming geometriesJournal of Orthopaedic Research, 1998